Return of The Calamity
by PokeTail
Summary: Gray has been suffering from nightmares ever since his unfortunate encounter with Deliora and all his team mates want to do is release Gray from his misery. With their friend's best interests at heart, they do whatever they can to help the ice wizard. However, what if much darker forces are behind this predicament? Will they ever be able to save Gray from the demon of his past?
1. His Worst Nightmare

**Just a quick warning, I haven't proof read this chapter. I wanted to get this out ASAP so if there's mistakes... sorry!**

 **But yeah, new fic! And, of course, as per usual I'm going to torture Gray more! Yay! Oh by the way, this takes place after the year timeskip, but you're just gonna have to pretend that the Alvarez arc isn't happening. (Is that classed as an AU? I really have no idea.)**

 **So, with that, I welcome you all to Return of The Calamity! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own it... though if I did there would be many arcs involving torturing Gray.**

* * *

"We should set up camp for the night," Erza informed. "Natsu would you make us a fire?"

"Sure," Natsu gathered a few sticks and rocks, and placed them in a somewhat jagged circle on the ground. The salamander spit up a small flare and the camp-fire burst to life.

Fairy Tail's strongest team were making their way back to Magnolia on foot as two of their team members suffered greatly from motion sickness and insisted they stay away from any other method of transportation. The group leisurely seated them and their belongings around the fire whilst Erza prepared some food for them. The usual light banter was held between them before they fell asleep one by one. Happy and Carla were the first to nod off as they snuggled up in their partners' laps. Wendy was quick to follow, considering her age, the team weren't surprised. After a long while, Lucy's eyes became too heavy for her to keep open. They could tell Natsu was next to sleep as a loud snore erupted from his mouth. Erza and Gray kept up their polite while albeit quiet conversation until Erza too grew tired.

"I'm going to get some rest. You should too Gray," she informed.

"Right," Gray answered. "Night Erza."

"Goodnight, Gray."

It wasn't long after that when Erza had drifted to sleep, leaving Gray alone in his thoughts.

* * *

Erza was woken up from her light sleep a few hours later. Looking up and realising that the moon was still high in the sky, she let her body fall back to the floor in order to let her peaceful sleep reclaim her. That's when she heard it. Well, she almost didn't through Natsu's raging snores, but her ears definitely picked it up. It started off as a small groan, but then escalated to the occasional choked sob. Someone was crying? Well, it definitely wasn't Natsu as the pink-haired male look far too content in his rackety sleep. Happy, if anything, looked hungry and he mumbled something that sounded like fish. As for the girls, they looked to be a dreamless sleep. Then that meant...

Gray

She glanced over to where she last saw the raven and she was more than surprised at what she saw. Gray seemed to have curled over into a fetal position, his head facing away from his red-haired companion. His form was rapidly shaking and even from a distance Erza could see sweat beading down his body. Titania wasted no time in getting to Gray's side. Making sure not to wake the others, she gave the ice wizard a slight nudge and whispered out to him.

"Gray?" She was met with another groan that sound louder and much more despaired than the last. Erza was getting more and more concerned. Sure, she knew that he was most likely having a nightmare, but considering he was in his late teens, shouldn't he have grown out of nightmares by now?

Unless...

Erza shook him more aggressively this time, only to get the same pained groan. This eventually got the attention of her previous sleeping team mates, who were now fully awake and hurrying over to their side whilst sharing worried glances.

"Erza, what's going on?" Lucy asked, rubbing her eyes in confusion.

"I think Gray's having a nightmare. He won't wake up."

"Awww, poor Gray-chan," Natsu teased. The fire wizard grabbed his rivals shoulders and violently shook him. "Gray, wake up bastard!" He roared. To Natsu's surprise, Gray didn't even seem phased by the rapid movements. He was too deep in his agonising sleep to have the slightest reaction as to what was going on around him.

"Natsu-san," Wendy muttered. "I don't think that's helping."

Happy lightly stroked Gray's raven locks that started to stick to his forehead due to the sweat. "Gray... Please wake up."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Carla questioned. "He's clearly not going to wake up any time soon. Wendy, can your healing magic do something to help?"

"I-I don't think so," Wendy had a solemn look on her face.

Gray pained moans had been reduced to almost silent whimpers as tendrils of tears flooded down his face. "D-"

"Gray," the team murmured, hoping he was waking up.

"D-Deli-ora," the ice wizard wept, balling his hands into fists, almost enough to draw blood from his palms.

"Deliora?" Natsu repeated. It had been a long time since _that_ had been mentioned.

"That's what I was afraid of," Erza sighed and addressed the group. "He's far too deep in sleep for us to wake him. We'll just have to wait for him to wake up on his own."

* * *

 _A small, eight-year old boy was running through his village at top speed. His family and friends long since deceased. Explosions were heard from all around, drowning out the screams of villagers as their lives were torn at the seams. Charred corpses, bathed in blood we're scattered around the cracked street. The entire atmosphere was painted a vile shade of red. The boy kept running. Where he was running to, the child had no clue, but he knew that he had to run. He didn't want to end up like them, a rotting corpse, buried under piles of debris. However, even if he did make it out of the village alive, where would he go after that? The boy had no family outside this village and he didn't exactly have money to help him get by. He wanted his parents back by his side. Thinking of his loved ones made his tears fall much faster and it was then that he little legs decided that they couldn't take anymore and he was left lying on the ground in a puddle of his own misery. He turned his head to star face to face with the creature that made his life a living hell. What was it his father called the thing? "D-Deli-ora!" The boy barely managed to choke out. The demon of destruction slowly started striding towards the child. If he didn't hurry, he'd turn into the first human pancake. Willing his tiny feet to move, the boy stood on his shaky legs before running like his life depended on it because it kind of did. The child kept running for another few minutes until he legs, once again, gave out and sent him tumbling to the ground. He tried to pull himself up with his arms, but he felt like his body had turned to pure lead. As a result of the running (and pure terror) the child's breathing hitched. Unable to control it, the boy squeezed his eyes shut as a foreign pain spread throughout his body. Was this was hyperventilating felt like? The boy's body started to twitch slightly as he tried to regain himself. The twitches then progressed into violet jerks of his body. He was having a full blown panic attack. It was at this point that the demon caught sight of another victim. It swung its arm down and swatted the child like a measly insect. Said boy suddenly felt he body forced into the air and the pain intensified. He wasn't sure if he'd screamed like he had intended as all of his sense had shut down completely. All the boy new was pain as he wait for the open arms of death to greet him. However, the privilege of death never came for the boy and his entire existence..._

 _Was pain._

* * *

Erza was the first to wake from her slumber and her thoughts immediately went back to Gray. The raven was now laying on his back, a blank expression on his face while his eyes remained closed. Erza took this as a good sign and begun to tidy the team's belongings away from last night. It took at least another half an hour before the rest of the group woke up and began helping the red-head. Natsu restarted the fire and Lucy helped with boiling some water. Wendy rolled up her blanket whilst Happy stood beside her, adjusting his bag. He took a quick glance at Gray who was still sound asleep. The Exceed frowned and strolled over to his partner. "Natsu, when will Gray wake up?"

Natsu had completely forgotten about the whole ordeal that occurred last night. After Happy's reminder, Natsu picked up the feline and they both made their way over to the raven. The stillness of him raised slight concerns for Natsu, but not by much. He gave Gray a gentle nudge. "Oi, time to wake up Popsicle." Natsu's calm voice barely came out as a whisper. Even Natsu had enough smarts to figure out that after the turmoil Gray looked to be in the previous night, the last thing he should do is startle the raven. Gray's brow furrowed slightly before Natsu was met with a pair of hazy, black eyes.

"N-Natsu?" Gray's mind was still fogged over from his sleep. Where were they again?

"Not a morning person, huh?" Natsu chuckled, offering a hand to his rival, pulling him into a sitting position. The girls gathered round to see if Gray was willing to talk.

"Gray, are you okay?" Happy question, quite an upset look on his face. "You didn't look too good last night. You were crying and looked like you were in pain."

Gray - still slightly confused - tried to hide his embarrassment after hearing that he'd cried in front of his team. He smiled towards the Exceed and patted him lightly on the head. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

"Bad doesn't even begin to describe it, Gray," Lucy pouted. "Usually you can wake someone up from a nightmare, but no matter what we tried, you wouldn't wake up. Natsu even roared at the top of his voice and you still didn't wake."

Erza spoke up. "You said something about Deliora. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine," he repeated. "There just memories from when I lived in Isvan. I get them all the time, it's no big deal."

"And by all the time you mean..." Carla folded her arms and waited for a response.

"I don't know... Every other night maybe?"

"So you're like that every two days?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"How long has this been going on for?" Erza inquired.

"As long as I can remember really," Gray rubbed his head. "Look, can we just drop this? It's not a big deal."

"If this is happening because of stress, I know a spell that can relieve some of it," the blunette prepared to work her magic.

"Don't worry about it, Wendy. I wouldn't want you wasting your magic on something so small. I'll manage. I always do."

Erza was done arguing with the raven at this point and returned to tidying her belongings. That fool can be so stubborn sometimes. There was no way Titania was just going to completely drop this subject; Erza decided she'd wait until they were back in a calmer environment to question him again. Of all people, the requip wizard understood the trauma he went through a childhood and the fact that he was still being affected by it was worrying. Erza would admit that she had the occasional flashback to her time as a slave, but they were usually the somewhat happy moments she had spent with her friends. Her issues with Jellal, Milliana and the rest of the group had been resolved and she often though fondly of the next time she'd see that messy blue hair again, but of course, she wasn't going to confess that to anyone. She had no doubt that, one way or another, she'd get Gray to talk to her. The raven must have the upmost trust in her as he was willing to leave his life behind to help her infiltrate a dark cult, fulling knowing the dangers he would be putting himself in. There was an awkward silence among the group and they got ready to depart. Thankfully enough, Natsu and Gray got into a pointless argument which lightened the mood somewhat. _Once we're back at the guild..._ Erza thought. _I'll ask him everything. I won't let him suffer in silence._

* * *

 **Whoop! Chapter one is done!**

 **I have no idea when this story will update as I have just started college and have no idea when I'll have enough time to write. But while I'm not that busy, I'm using every free period I get to write. Now, I've got a few chapters already complete, but they won't be coming out until I know where abouts this story is going so... be patient with me guys.**

 **Don't forget to review, favourite and follow if you liked it. It gives me a warm feeling... wait... no that's just the out of season heat. :p**

 **See you next time!**


	2. Unwanted Sleep

**Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No silly! It's a new chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Me no own!**

* * *

The doors to the guild hall swung open as Fairy Tail's strongest team marched straight though the guild doors and headed to their usual table. Mira wasted no time in bounding over to the group to greet them with a cheery smile.

"Welcome back, guys. How did you job go?"

"Too easy as usual," Natsu grinned towards the barmaid. "Missions have become much easier this past year."

"Well, we have all greatly improved since the guild disbanded," Mira pointed out.

"It's weird to think that the guild was gone for a year," Lucy leaned her chin on her hand. "Everything's gone back to normal so quickly, kinda like we never left.

"And it should stay that way. You guys want anything?"

"The usual please Mira," Natsu grinned.

"Just a juice box would be nice, Mira-san," Wendy smiled, politely.

"FISH!" Happy wailed his arms around like no tomorrow.

"Just some water for me, please," Carla added.

"Make that two," Gray smirked.

"Nothing for me thanks," Erza finished.

"Are you sure you don't want your usual strawberry cake?"

"No thanks, Mira."

"Okay. Coming right up."

* * *

Eventually the team split ways in order to talk with their fellow comrades. Lucy had rushed over to Levy to discuss a new novel the two had been reading, Wendy and Carla occupied themselves with polite chit chat with Romeo, Natsu had - somehow - ended up in a fight with Gajeel while Happy and Pantherlily cheered them on, and Gray was sat drinking with Cana (despite it being only noon) whilst Juvia constantly told him of how great he was. This left Erza in her seat at the bar pondering the events of the previous night. She glanced over at her childhood friend. He seemed to be enjoying his usual banter with Cana; nothing about the way he acted appeared out of the ordinary, and that's what worried her. Gray believed that the turmoil he goes through every other night _is_ ordinary. Erza always hated seeing her little brothers get hurt on a job, but knowing one of them was suffering outside of missions was even worse. Finally deciding to take action, the red-head rose from her seat and marched right up to the raven. "Can we talk?"

Gray sighed. He knew all too well what was coming. "Yeah," he muttered before following Erza out the guild's main entrance.

"So, are you going to talk about what happened last night?"

"Erza, I told you already. I'm fine, stuff like that is completely normal."

"No it's not!" She raised her voice. "Nightmares to that extent are far from normal, Gray. It's obvious you're still suffering from the impact Deliora had on your life. If you don't talk to us about what you're going through, things will never get better."

"I know. Deliora's dead so this shouldn't even be an issue anymore. I guess I'm still a bit shaken up from the whole Tartaros incident last year."

"You mean about your father?"

Gray's expression saddened. "Yeah... Look if things start getting worse, I'll talk to someone, alright?"

"Very well. As long as we don't have to witness you go through another episode like that again. We were all worried."

* * *

As the two wizards walked back into the guild hall, Natsu, Lucy and Wendy were already huddled around the request board, eager to take another job.

"Gray, Erza, come help us pick a job request!" Lucy called, waving her arm at them.

The two in question were quick to join their friends in scanning the board. After a few quick glances, the noises around Gray became more muffled and he could barely make out what his team mates were saying. The raven felt his eyes grow heavy as his mind began to fog over. He could feel his legs beginning to shake and his eyes fell even more, despite the effort he put in keeping them open. Gray's muscles started to feel like lead and he swayed slightly on his feet. He quickly lost his footing and the last thing he remember hearing before he toppled over was an unfamiliar voice.

 _Sleep_

The group heard a loud thud behind them and rapidly shot their heads round to search for where the noise came from. However, they we're met with their black-haired friend lying face down on the wooden floor, completely unconscious.

"Gray?!" Their voices sported a very worried tone as other guild members gathered around to see what the fuss was.

"What happened?" Cana was the first to run over and knelt by her best friend's side, quickly followed by Juvia.

"We're not sure," Wendy replied. "We turned around and he was just lying there."

"Something must be wrong with him," Mira wondered. "I'll go get master."

Natsu rolled Gray onto his back to get a look at his rival's condition. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with him... In fact, it just looked as if he was sleeping. His breaths came out at a steady pace and a calm expression covered his features. So what the hell was wrong with him? "Dammit, Ice bastard. What's going on with you?"

The bartender soon returned with Makarov at her side. By this, point a crowd had surrounded Gray and his comrades, all concerned about his sudden collapse. Makarov had to yell in order to get the guild members to disperse and return to their tables, leaving the strongest team all kneeling by the ice wizard's side. Makarov inspected the boy over before coming to a conclusion. "Natsu, carry Gray into the infirmary. Erza, could you go into the forest to find Porlyusica. She might be able to get a better analogy of his condition."

Titania ran out of the guild hall, no questions asked, while Natsu slung his friend over his back and brought him into the infirmary. Lucy and Wendy helped prepare a bed and Natsu set Gray down. They all shared worried glances as they watched Gray's chest rise and fall to a slow beat, but were soon snapped out of their thoughts by their master.

"Don't worry, brats," he grinned. "Gray's a stubborn one, he'll pull through. We shouldn't let this phase us."

"Natsu-san, Lucy-san, do you think this has anything to do with what happened last night?" Wendy pondered.

"What happened last night," Makarov asked with a forceful tone.

"Gray was having a nightmare," Happy stated. "But no matter how hard we tried, he wouldn't wake up."

"He was saying something about Deliora," Carla added.

"I see... It's probably just post-trauma. People tend to get nightmares after a traumatic experience, even worse in children. Considering how young Gray was at the time, it's not surprise that he's still feeling the effects of the demon."

Around ten minutes later, Erza had returned with Porlyusica. Despite her wanting the team to leave, they - along with Makarov - sat at the far side of the room staring intently as the healer began the examination. From what Erza had told her on the way to the guild, the boy and just collapsed out of the blue. He had been completely fine before hand, yet he was now unconscious. Any tests Porlyusica tried came out negative of any issues, in other words, there was nothing wrong with the lad. The healer decided to do the tests a second time just to be certain. There had to be something wrong with him or Makarov wouldn't have felt the need to call upon her for help. The tests once again came up negative, so Porlyusica decided to call it a day. She walked back over the the wizards who still staring wide-eyed, waiting to know Gray's condition.

"I'll be honest," she began. "I have no idea what's wrong with him."

"What?!" Was their immediate response.

"It's exactly as I said. Every test I carried out came back negative. The boy's in perfect health. It's almost as if his mind just forced him to sleep. You mentioned he was having nightmares?"

"So it has something to do with that?" Carla asked.

"I wouldn't say so. From what you told me he is getting the sleep he requires, but it's worth keeping an eye on him. There must be something we're missing. Now, if you'd excuse me, I would like to return home." The healer wasted no time in taking her leave.

"So, what now? We just wait for him to wake up?" Natsu folded his arms.

"I guess so..." Lucy murmured.

"I'll go and inform the guild of his condition," Makarov rose from his seat and walked out, leaving the team in peace. They returned to Gray's bedside and continued to watch the limp form.

* * *

 _The young boy was running in what appeared to be a black void. What he was running from, the child had no clue. His only thought was that he should be running from whatever creature lingered in the darkness. The boy had never felt so alone before in his life. There seemed to be no escape from this strange abyss. He wanted out... Now! Suddenly, his panicked mind was telling him to stop and face whatever he was running from. "No!" He cried as his pace sped up, but the urge to come to a halt only got stronger with ever step he took. He sprint turning into a jog, he jog turned into power walking, and soon he feet came to a stop. The child felt his body twist around - despite his mind screaming at him not to - and he came face to face with a pain of demonic looking eyes. Red irises were surrounded by a deep black sclera. His panic in the rise, the boy turned around and continued running. A booming voice rang through his head, a voice very unfamiliar to him._

 _"Why fight it child? Running is futile."_

 _The boy's pace quickened._

 _"You can feel it can't you? Your strength being sapped out every second."_

 _The boy felt his muscles grow weaker and weaker._

 _"I am going to claim that body and soul for myself."_

 _The boy froze._

 _"And there's nothing you or you friends can do but watch."_

 _The boy felt the darkness consume him and he felt as if he was choking on the atmosphere itself. No longer having control over his body, the child closed his eyes and awaited his fate. That was until a brilliant white light obscured everything from view._

* * *

Gray's eyes slowly flickered open and he was met with six pairs of concerned eyes. He looked around and realised that he was lying in the guild's infirmary. Wait, why was he here? Weren't they just looking at job requests and then... Well, everything was kind of fuzzy from there. He pulled himself into a sitting position before addressing his team. "What happened? Why am I in the infirmary?"

"You tell us," Natsu seemed almost angry at the raven. "You just straight up collapsed while we were trying pick a job."

"Huh?"

"How do you feel Gray-san?" Wendy asked.

"Just a little tired, but other than that, I feel normal."

"Tired? You've been asleep for the past hour and a half."

"Natsu, you're not helping!" Lucy scolded.

"Porlyusica said there isn't anything wrong with you," Erza informed. "You have any idea why you collapsed?"

"N-no, I've been feeling fine all day. Maybe I'm just not hydrated enough, I don't know."

Erza nodded before guiding the rest of her team back into the main hall, away from the gloomy atmosphere of the infirmary. Deciding going on a job now would be pointless, so they all went their separate ways. Lucy went back over to Levy's table to talk more about the novel, Wendy and Carla started talking to Lisanna about what the guild was like when she was young. Gray returned to Cana, who began to question if the idiot had gotten drunk from only one mug of booze. Before Erza, Natsu and Happy split off, they all shared the same worried glance, each knew exactly what the other's were thinking. __There's something happening to Gray_._

* * *

 **Yay! Chapter two is done!**

 **Manga Theory Time!**

 **Sooooo... You know the ice wizard Makarov mentioned is one of the 12 Shields... Well, this theory is a little out there (and I have next to no evidence) but what if that Shield guy is Ur's husband/Ultear's father? How cool would that be?! More ways to torture Gray! MWUHAHAHAHA!**

 **Don't forget to revieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!**

 **Buh-Bye!**


	3. Trying to Stay Awake

**Somehow, I've managed to stay consistent with updates for this fic... Let's see how long that lasts. :P Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own!**

* * *

The following day, Gray agreed that it was finally time to take another solo job. It felt like forever since he'd had anytime to himself considering all the insane things that happened to him and his team over a year ago. It was already noon when Gray entered the guild; everyone knew the raven wasn't a morning person. He took a look around the hall, noticing that his fellow team mates were nowhere in sight. He assumed that they all went off on their own jobs and Gray was ready to do the same. He approached the request board and searched for any decently paying missions. One flyer spoke out to him.

 _Request: Defeat the Wyverns on Mt. Hakobe as they have been the cause of recent avalanches. Reward: 150 000 Jewel._

This was only was the pay good enough to last him the month, but it was sending him to the coldest place of the country. That was his territory. All he needed to do was defeat a few silly Wyverns. Simple.

"Going on a job, Gray?" Mira smiled as he came over to the bar. She was cleaning glasses left over from the guild's breakfast hour.

"Yeah," he answered, showing her the request. "It's been too long since I've done a solo."

"Natsu and Lucy said a similar thing before they left on their job. Erza left on an S-Class request shortly after and I think Wendy went to see Chelia... Are you sure you'll be okay on this mission, considering what happened yesterday?"

"Mira, I'm fine trust me. I can handle a few Wyverns. Should be back later today." He turned his back and walked off.

"Well, if you're sure," she called.

Gray sent a wave in her direction before hurrying off to the train station.

* * *

As the train jittered along the tracks, Gray took the liberty to lean his head on the window and watch the scenery go by. Now that he thought about it, he'd never stopped to appreciate how beautiful the Kingdom of Fiore really was. Of course, it didn't hold a candle to Isvan for nostalgic reasons, but the country really was a nice contrast to what he was used to. As Isvan was much further up north, it snowed for the majority of the year. It's why the raven loved winter so much. He'd never bothered to stop and really take a look at Fiore's environment. There were flowers practically everywhere you looked - now he sees where the country gets its name from. The sun was shunting brightly in the sky as usual, but as much as he loved a bright summer's day, he couldn't help but miss his old home in the snowy continent. Watching the blur of colours, Gray felt his eyes grow weary. Damn, why do I feel so tired all the time lately? he thought. Suddenly, that foreign voice he'd heard the previous day racked through his brain.

 _Just do it Gray. Give in to the sleep._

"What the heck?" Gray whispered to himself. "Must be hearing things." He forced his eyes to stay open for the rest of the journey.

* * *

The fang-white mountain loomed over Gray as he stood at the base of Mt. Hakobe. The raven took a moment to close his eyes and just take in fresh scent of pine trees mixed with snow. It was as if Christmas had come early. Recalling what he had come here for, Gray began his accent up the mountain. As he climbed, the ice wizard felt his steps gradually become more sluggish and occasionally tripped over a small rock. "God dammit!" Gray roared through the snow. "Why am I so out of it lately? Does it have something to do with what happened yesterday? URG! What the hell is going on?!" Regaining his footing, Gray picked up his pace and continued to the top.

It took the raven a good twenty minutes before he finally caught sight of four Wyverns patrolling the peak of Hakobe. After muddling around a few ideas through his head, he decided on a stealthy approach. Do as much damage as possible without being caught - he concluded that this would be the more efficient method. Doing his best attempts at silently climbing as close as possible (despite the crunch of snow beneath his feet), Gray had found the perfect blind spot. Perfect he thought. Before he could bring his hands together to create a weapon, his vision suddenly turned black and he felt himself fall against the rocky exterior. Clutching his head, Gray tried with all his might to blink the strange sensation and once his vision clear, he got straight into action. "Ice-Make," he whispered. "Ice Geyser." The ice sliced through the Wyverns' legs and they all darted into the skies, searching for the source of the attack as a hawk would for its prey. Staying hidden from their view, Gray clenched his right fist as the devil slayer tattoo's adorned his forearm. In his hands he formed a bow, ready to strike at his targets. The moment they were in range, the ice devil leaped out of his hiding place and shot the arrow faster than the speed of light. It pierced through two flying beast, however the other two managed to fly out of range before the attack to shoot through them. Noticing their challenger, one Wyvern swooped down in Gray's direction. On instinct, the raven went to roll to the side away from the attack, but his reaction time was too delayed and the Wyvern managed to snag his left arm, causing it to bleed profusely. "Ahh," he cried and quickly froze the wound over. Determination rising, Gray clenched his right arm yet again and focused all his energy on his next attack. "Hyōma no Gekikō!" The giant funnel of ice and now burst from the devil's mouth hitting every Wyvern in the area and sending them flying, literally.

Once the peak was clear of the beasts, Gray slumped down against a rock, panting heavily. He felt as if his entire strength had been sapped out of him with that last attack. Confusion spread through his mind, Gray knew he was stronger than this. He'd improved an awful amount during the year the guild spent apart, so why was he now out of breath? The raven patiently waited for his strength to return and slowly pushed himself up from the rock. Scanning the area for a final time, Gray deemed that Hakobe was safe once again and followed the rocky path to the bottom.

* * *

The ice wizard managed to return to his home without any issue. He ran his hand through his hair as his pushed the door open and threw his bag on the couch. Stripping off his shirt, the raven let himself fall onto his bed and his body went lax. This, however, did not last for long as his body was quick to tense up as soon as a voice racked through his brain.

 _Gray..._

"Who's there?!" He shot up from his position, eyes darting around his house.

 _I'm offended, Gray. You don't remember me?_

"Of course not! Who are you?" Gray moved into the centre of the room.

 _Search your mind, Gray. I'm someone you're more than familiar with._

Gray's form shifted into his battle stance, but as he did, he felt his muscles become weaker as they had done on the mission. His arms fell limply to his sides and his legs began to shake uncontrollably. "W-what's going on? What are you doing to me?" Panic was evident in his voice.

 _I told you before. I am going to claim this body and soul for myself._

Gray opened his mouth to retaliate, but no words came out. He was far too weakened to even keep his head from falling to one side; it was a miracle he was still standing.

 _Still don't remember me? Well, here's something that might jog your memory._

Suddenly, an ear splitting roar pierced through Gray's mind, causing him to scream in agony. One thought crossed the teens mind before crumpling to the ground and letting the darkness envelop him like a blanket. _Deliora!_

* * *

The strongest team in Fairy Tail showed up at the guild hall bright and early the next day, eager to take on another request. Unfortunately, there was one problem; one of their team mates were missing. The guild's resident ice wizard had yet to show up. This wasn't a surprise to them at first, Gray was known for having a lie in pretty much every morning. But considering recent events and the fact that he hadn't returned to the guild from his job yesterday, people's concerns gradually began to rise. After waiting for another hour, Erza had had enough. "Natsu, go and find Gray," she demanded.

"Why? The ice bastards just being a lazy ass," Natsu growled, though it was clear to all that he was trying to mask his concern for his rival.

"Natsu..." Erza warned.

"Fine, fine," Natsu rolled his eyes and stormed out of the guild.

"Erza..." Lucy mumbled. "I'm sure Gray's fine, he's probably still sleeping." It sounded that she was trying to convince herself instead of her red-headed friend.

"I hope you're right..." Erza frowned.

* * *

"Stupid Erza, makin' me check up on Popsicle," Natsu grumbled and he stomped down the streets of Magnolia. Natsu didn't want to see Gray... and this wasn't because of their usual rivalry. He didn't want Erza to tell him to go and check on him because that meant something was wrong. _Gray would be fine_ Natsu kept telling himself. He'd probably end up walking in on the raven as he was getting ready to come to the guild and they'd probably end up getting into a fight, right? Natsu hoped he was right. After finally arriving at his rival's house, the Salamander boomed on his front door like a mad man. No response. _Must still be sleeping_ Natsu thought. He banged a second time much louder than the last. Still no response. Okay, now he was pissed. With one forceful kick, the door swung open, smacking against the wall. "Gray!" Natsu was NOT happy with what he saw. The raven was lying, face down, on the wooden floorboards. His right shoulder still remained frozen from his previous job, but the fire wizard could clearly see that his wound needed medical attention ASAP. Natsu was quick to his side and rolled Gray over so he was lying on his back. The teen looked almost lifeless and Natsu wasn't afraid to admit that he was taken aback by his comrade's condition. His face was as pale as a white sheet of snow and Natsu couldn't even tell if his was breathing or not. Panic spread throughout the pinkette's form as he desperately began shaking Gray, hoping to snap him out of whatever state he was in. Natsu kept shaking for another five minutes until Gray's eyes finally flickered open, but they weren't _his_ eyes. The sclera of his eyes was pure black whereas his irises were a sickening colour of red. Was this his demon form? No, it couldn't be. Those black markings Natsu had once thought were possessing the raven were missing. Maybe it was a reaction to getting hurt? The Salamander was rapidly snapped out of his thoughts when he realised Gray was still staring at him. "Hey, are you alright? Why are your eyes-" Natsu cut himself off when Gray suddenly gripped his friend's arm – quite painfully too – and it started to freeze over. The fire wizard jumped back in pain while Gray staggered to his feet.

"You're as naïve as usual, Salamander," Gray snarled, though his voice sounded mildly different.

Natsu then put two and two together. "Who are you? What did you do with Gray?!"

"What are you talking about? This _is_ Gray in the flesh. However, you're not talking to Gray currently. I sent him to take a little nap."

"Then, who am I talking to?"

"Something this boy greatly despises. Something that plagues his nightmares every other night."

"It can't be?"

"You've guessed it, haven't you Salamander? I'm-" Gray's form suddenly swayed and his hand came up to claw through his hair. "Dammit, he's still fighting. I've not gained enough strength to keep the bastard at bay."

Natsu was at a loss for words. It couldn't be, could it? If what this thing was saying ended up to be true, he couldn't just attack it like any other enemy. Whatever happens to this creature will also be inflicted upon Gray too. So he just stood there and watched it all play out.

"Remember this boy," the creature continued. "I may not have all my strength now, but it will come back to me. You're going to have a front row seat to your friend's demise and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it" Gray's eyes slowly faded back to their rightful colour, but were quick to fall shut as his body collapsed back to the floor. Luckily for him, Natsu's reflexes activated. He caught Gray's limp form and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"Gray, you there?" Natsu asked, hesitantly.

"…Yeah…" Gray's breaths came out in deep pants and his limbs shook rapidly.

"Gray," Natsu began. "I think you're possessed by Deliora."

"You don't say."

* * *

 **MWUHAHAHAHA! I'm so evil!**

 **GAH! The friggin' FT chapter left it off on such a cliffy I'm dying. That chapter was really awesome, but it gives me a terrible feeling that Gray and/or Natsu is gonna die. I hope I'm wrong!**

 **Sooooo... I'd write something else here, but I'm playing Never Have I Ever with three of my friends through text...**

 **Don't forget to fave/follow/review!**

 **Au revoir!**


	4. A Talk With Makarov

**I was so close to not uploading a chapter this week. I've been ill all weekend so I haven't written anything. But then Monday came along and I finished all the things I needed to for now so I could get this chapter out on time. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own it. :(**

* * *

The two remained in that position for an indefinite amount of time. Gray form still shook rigorously; it appeared that he was using all of his remaining energy just to remain conscious. Natsu was still completely gobsmacked at the events that had just taken place. It suddenly all added up. Deliora's spirit must be the one causing the ice wizard's nightmares and must also be the cause of him collapsing in the guild. The Salamander then felt a warm substance trailing down his arm and his thoughts immediately went back to Gray. With all his strength sapped from him, there was no way he was going to be able to keep his wound frozen shut.

"Gray, you alright?" It was a daft question, but he needed the conversation to go somewhere.

"Of course… I'm not… alright… I'm fucking possessed… by Deliora…" Gray managed through panted breaths.

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it. We'll find a way to save you. I'm sure Gramps will know something," Natsu knew that now was definitely not the time for their usual banter. "Can you move at all?"

After a long pause, Gray responded. "No."

Upon hearing the raven's answer, Natsu picked up his rival, bridal style, and lay him down on his bed, making sure to put a towel under his shoulder to absorb the blood and keep the bed clean. "Do you have a med kit anywhere? Or some bandages?"

"Second draw… to your left."

As the Salamander rummaged around his house, Gray willed his limbs to move, but to no avail. Just what the hell was Deliora doing to him… and how the hell did he get possessed in the first place? Just the thought of Deliora sent shivers down his spine, god he was losing it. He could still hear that foul laughter booming in his mind as he felt a headache coming along. Just as he was about to attempt to sleep the headache off, the pyro returned with his med kit.

"Gray, I know you'll want to sleep, but you've gotta try to stay awake. If you're sleeping, Deliora will just torment you more." He began to clean out Gray's wound. "We'll take you back to the guild and talk to Gramps about your… _problem_. The girls are worried about you too."

"Since when… did you be-come… Mr Over Protective?" he winced through the pain.

"Since I found out my friend was possessed by one of Zeref's demons," he replied, bluntly.

Wait, wait, WAIT! Did Natsu, _the Natsu_ , just call Gray his friend? It was safe to say that the ice wizard was at a loss for words. Natsu had never called Gray his friend for as long as they've known each other. This out of character friendliness definitely did not calm the raven. Natsu being nice to him meant that things were seriously wrong and the unsettling feeling in Gray's chest continued to rise.

"I'm done," Natsu declared, pinning the bandages together. "Can you move any better now?"

"A little," Gray answered, flexing his uninjured arm, "but I don't think I can walk."

"Well, we can't sit around here all day. C'mon," Natsu flung Gray's arm around his neck and pulled him off the bed. Using the pyro as support, they slowly, but surely, made their way over to the guild hall.

* * *

"Where the hell are they?!" A very angry Titania roared throughout the building.

"They'll be back soon Erza," Happy chimed. "You know what Gray's like in the mornings."

"Erza, don't worry yourself," Macao spoke up. "They're big boys. If something happens they'll be able to handle it."

"Why don'tcha just take a seat and enjoy a drink instead of fretting over those idiots," Cana slurred.

The red-head sighed. They were right and she should be shamed for doubting them. She'd known them ever since they were young after all; Erza should have more faith in them. Taking a seat next to the other girls of the team, the requip wizard ordered her signature Strawberry Cake in attempt to calm her nerves. It was a while before the boys finally showed up. Natsu's face was full of worry whereas Gray's face was paler than a sheet of ice. He was leaning on the pinkette for support and most of his limbs were shaking from the pressure of just trying to stand. Erza was shocked. She knew it! She knew something would be wrong. If only she'd joined Natsu in checking up of her friend. Jeez, she needed to have more trust in her instincts.

"Gray! What happened? Are you alright?" The woman spoke so fast that Natsu wouldn't have picked up what she was saying without his dragon hearing.

"Don't have time to explain," his expression turned serious. "Gramps, we need to talk to you in private."

It was then that Makarov finally looked up at the commotion. Seeing the state of one of his children, the tiny man immediately obliged and ushered them into his office. As the two walked through the guild hall, all eyes were on them, causing Gray to hide his face from view.

"Natsu, I think I can walk on my own."

The Salamander was reluctant at first, but he slowly pulled away from his rival. The ice wizard stood alone for about a second before his legs crumpled and was caught by the pyro. Saying nothing, the pair continued to his office.

* * *

"I have a terrible feeling I don't want to know what's troubling you," Makarov sighed as Natsu set Gray down on the chair and stood close by in case he collapsed again.

"Gray's possessed by Deliora, Gramps," Natsu stated, concern evident in his voice.

Makarov was shocked. "Yep, I didn't want to know. Go one, then. Tell me everything that happened."

Natsu glanced over to the raven, who just stared down at his hands. He took this as a hint to start talking. "As we told you yesterday, Gray had a nightmare about Deliora while we were coming home from a job. We didn't think much of it, but then yesterday he just randomly collapsed. When I went to check on him – Erza's orders – he was collapsed on the floor. When he woke up, his eyes were black and red. His voice sounded all weird but then his eyes turned to normal and he collapsed again. That's all I know."

"And Gray?" the Master knew Gray wouldn't want to talk, but he needed to know everything if they wanted a chance to help the teen.

"…" The raven was far too lost in his thoughts to respond, still trying to come to terms with his predicament. He was possessed…by Deliora. Of all the things that could happen to him it had to be this.

"Gray," Makarov's calm voice brought him back to reality. "I know you hate this, but you need to talk to us if we're ever going to help you."

He sighed. "I was on my job yesterday. While I was climbing up Hakobe, I kept feeling really tired… which I shouldn't do considering I've climbed Hakobe loads of times. Every now and then I kept hearing this voice telling me to sleep, but I just thought I was hearing things through the blizzard… I got home and heard the voice again, it actually started talking to me this time. By the time I realised who it was, I was already blacking out." He was met with silence. "I sound insane, right?"

"Not insane just… possessed," Natsu shrugged.

"Mmm," Makarov put his hand beneath his chin and the room was filled with silence. After a few minutes, he continued. "I think it would be best if I call Porlyusica to help. She may have a cure. For now though, it would be best if you remain in the guild at all times Gray. There's a chance you may collapse again…" Gray's form stiffened. "…and Natsu, I'll need you to keep an eye on him in case Deliora takes control over him again."

"He WHAT?!" Three female and two feline voices screamed from the other side of the door.

"I'd expect the ease dropping from Lucy, but Erza you know better than that," Natsu grinned as they charged into the room.

"Gray what is Master talking about? You're possessed?" Lucy questioned, tears forming.

Gray remained seated, his eyes hidden by his bangs. The raven clenched his teeth together and a slight growl was released. If Lucy hadn't know better, she'd say that the demon was currently controlling him.

"Well," Makarov addressed group. "Now you all know, you might as well help out. Lucy, you Happy and Carla can go into the eastern forest to get Porlyusica and bring her back here. As for the rest of you, there's a private room on the second floor you can stay in. I'd rather not have everyone else find out what's happening. If word got out that Deliora still lives and is in Fairy Tail, well… it won't be good."

"Understood," Erza replied.

"And Gray," the wizard in question glanced up at the Master, eyes tired and his face still incredibly pale. "Just hang in there, alright? And please don't do anything stupid."

"Yeah…" was all he could bring himself to say. He was tired. Too tired. He wanted to just go to sleep and be left alone in peace, as if that would happen. Being asleep was even more stressful than being awake. He just wanted it all to stop. Gray desperately wanted his friends, his family, to stop giving him those concerned looks he'd seen far too many times already. He wanted to be safe in his own mind and not have an immortal demon listening to his every thought. He just wanted everything to stop. Makarov gestured for the team to leave and Lucy, along with the Exceed's, dashed off into the forest. The others made their way up to the second floor, Natsu making sure that Gray stayed in between him and Erza just in case. Despite the guild's usual cheery atmosphere, the team were dead silent and Gray hated it. However, when the ice wizard heard the voice make its return, he'd decided that being in silence was a privilege.

 _You want it all to stop, huh? There's an easy solution to that. Just give up. Give in to my power. You'll be much happier that way._

 _No way am I giving up_ , Gray yelled in his mind. This was definitely the weirdest argument he'd been in.

 _You're far too tired, Gray. You won't be able to keep this façade up forever. Sooner or later you will fall. It would be less painful if you quit now._

Gray began to think of a response, but his mind fogged over and his vision fell to darkness. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Barely being able to stay awake and being at risk of collapsing at any given moment. He felt himself fall backwards, but the impact with the floor never came. He really hated this.

"Gray!" Natsu yelled, watching Gray falter before falling backwards. Natsu quickly grabbed him and lowered the raven down until he was resting softly on the floor. The ice wizard's eyes were tightly shut and he groaned in pain. He'd fallen into a nightmare already? That escalated quickly Natsu thought.

"Can you carry him into the room?" Erza asked, trying her best to remain calm.

"…Yeah…" Natsu replied holding him in a bridal position.

"Should I try to heal him?" Wendy's quiet voice asked.

"I don't think this is something you magic can cure, Wendy."

* * *

Makarov was gobsmacked. One of his children had been possessed by one of those vial creatures. The fact that it was Deliora only made things worse. If it were some other demon, while it would still be very bad, it wouldn't cause as much of a panic. However, that demon, the _same demon_ that had tormented the boy throughout his childhood, was now trying to take control of his very being. What would happen if he succeeded? Makarov didn't want to think about that. They will save him, they have to. What would Fairy Tail become without Gray?

* * *

 **This is the first chapter of this story that I actually proof-read, so if there are any errors... well, you'll see why I'm not a beta-reader. :p**

 **So is anyone else crying over the latest episode of FT? Seriously can't wait for the next one, plus a new op and ed. Though I will miss Never-End Tale.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review, the make me smile. :D**

 **See ya!**


	5. Stealing Magic

**Okay, so I missed last weeks update. I'm sorry! I hadn't had much time to write so I had nothing prepared. Hopefully this chapter will make up for my absence. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Ya know...**

* * *

Having to sit back and watch as your childhood friend goes through inner turmoil mustn't be fun. Wendy couldn't even begin to imagine what the two older wizards were going through. She'd been a member of Fairy Tail for a while now and, as everyone else, the sky dragon cared deeply for her comrades. Seeing one of them in pain was bad enough, but knowing that there was nothing they could do about it was even worse. Of course, Wendy played her part in helping to heal Gray's arm, but she came out with very little success. The ice wizard was lying on a small bed in the private room Makarov had set them up with. Erza had placed herself in an armchair with her head in her hands, not daring to look up and witness Gray's tortured expression. Natsu, on the other hand, wouldn't stop pacing. Left, right. Left, right. Though he did stop occasionally to take a quick glance at Gray. Then he continued. Left, right. Left, right. It was getting kind of annoying actually, however Wendy wouldn't speak up. They're just worried, and the girl wasn't used to scolding anyway. It had been around fifteen minutes since Gray fell unconscious and by now he was practically sweating a river. He had kicked the sheets off the bed and his hands were balled into fists. Every now and then, a quiet groan or whimper could be heard coming from the raven and Wendy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. One thought crossed through her mind. _How much longer until Lucy-san returns with Porlyusica-san?_

* * *

Lucy arrived at Porlyusica's fairly quickly thanks to Happy and Carla's max speed. She scurried over to the door and knocked like her life depended on it. It opened a tiny amount until it was slammed shut by the home owner. "Go home! I've got not business with humans."

"But I'm a cat," Happy called back, hoping that she'd change her mind.

When they were met with silence, Lucy's temper rose. "Porlyusica-san, please! Our friend, he's… we think he's been possessed."

At this, the door opened. "Possessed? By what?"

"A demon," Carla stated.

"I'm a healer, not an exorcist. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well… Master said you might be able to help."

The woman stared down and the desperate faces. If she refused any longer she'd end up with them getting on their knees and begging. She sighed. "Your guild really depends on me too much. Come on, let's get going."

* * *

Makarov was pacing throughout his office. The thought that one of his own children was in serious danger scared him to the bone. What if Porlyusica couldn't help? What if there was no way to save him? Too many questions were tangled in his brain, but he wasn't going to ignore the elephant in the room. How had Gray been possessed in the first place? This definitely needed investigating; he'd find a decent team to take care of that later. Right now, all that mattered was making sure that the guild's resident ice wizard was safe.

The tiny man exited his office and pulled himself up the stairs. He continued down the corridor until he reached the private room. With any luck, Porlyusica would arrive any second to aid them. Using his magic to force the door open, he was met with three pairs of eyes, filled with worry and concern. Makarov's eyes moved over to the bed only to see Gray's pained expression, his hands clenched into fists as he progressed through his nightmare.

"What happened?" He asked, or rather, yelled.

"He collapsed again on the way over here," Erza stated, bluntly.

"But he seemed perfectly fine whilst in my office."

Natsu opened his mouth to respond, however he was abruptly silenced as his team mates stormed into the room with Porlyusica quick to follow.

"All of you except Makarov, out!" She boomed, pointing to the exit.

Reluctantly, the girls all nodded before heading to the door. Natsu, being the stubborn pyro that he is, insisted on staying, earning him a punch in the stomach and being dragged out of the room by Erza. Porlyusica placed her bag on the bed side table and leaned in to get a good examine of Gray's condition.

"Is there a way to help him?" Makarov asked immediately.

"So far, it's not looking good," she answered, blankly. "Has he been on a job recently?"

"Yes, he went on one yesterday, why do you ask?"

"He magic isn't replenishing at the usual rate, it's almost as if it's all the Ethernano is collecting in a different area."

"You don't mean... Deliora's been stealing his magic?"

"Deliora?! The blonde didn't say anything about him being possessed by one of Zeref's demons."

"That demon was the one who killed his parents and mentor," Makarov sighed.

"I see. Well, we know why the beast decided to possess this one, but the real question is how?"

"I'll have some of my brats look into it. Our main priority is making sure Gray is safe."

"Hmm," Porlyusica mumbled. "Do you have any of those magic sealing cuffs? We don't have a way of draining the magic Deliora's been storing, but we can prevent the boy's body from absorbing anymore."

It was just their luck that one of the cuffs was tucked away in one of the cupboards. As Makarov dug through the clutter to grab it, Porlyusica continued. "Of course, this means the boy can no longer go on jobs, or use his magic whatsoever for that matter. He already has barely enough magic in him as it is. If that demon tries to take anymore, it'll only do more damage than good. The cuffs should keep Deliora at bay, but not for long. We'll have to find out how to save him before the demon can take control of him again. Who knows what that vile creature can do?" She went to grab the raven's arm, but quickly pulled back when shards of ice flew in her direction.

"You're a little too late for that plan," a voice snarled. Gray's eyes once again turned red and a sadistic grin adorned his features. He flicked his wrist back, sending the healer crashing into the wall with his ice magic.

"Gray?!" Makarov yelled standing in between the boy and his only exit.

"Try again," the grin on his face widened.

"No! You're... Deliora."

"Wow, you catch on quick for an old man. Let's just get one thing clear," Gray's form leaped off the bed. "No one will be taking my magic away from me, not when I'm this close to achieving my goals."

Makarov gritted his teeth and activated his magic.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the demon laughed. "Remember who you're attacking. It'd be a shame if something happened to the boy wouldn't it."

 _Crap!_ Makarov thought. _How the hell am I gonna do anything without harming Gray?_

The tiny man was snapped out of his thoughts when Gray's form grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him off his feet.

"I wonder how Gray will feel know he was the one to kill his own guild master?" He chuckled.

* * *

Natsu and the girls sat at their signature table on the ground floor. Their guild mates occasionally approached the group to ask of Gray's condition, but each time were met with silence. The knees was seriously starting to take a toll on the group. Natsu, Lucy and Happy remembered the first time they'd seen Deliora. The fear in Gray's eyes overwhelmed the group. The raven was usually a very calm and collected person so for him to lose his cool like that scared them to the bone. Natsu thought back to the Tartarus incident, how Gray had told him about his father. How the man pretended to be possessed by the demon of his past and even go as far as to gravely injure the guy. Natsu almost laughed at the irony. His thoughts went back to Gray. Each time the ice wizard had been faced with Deliora, he'd attempted the forbidden, Iced Shell. At least they could relax somewhat, knowing that this wasn't something that kind of ice could solve. The Salamander's ears suddenly perked up. He could have sworn he just heard Makarov yelling. Darting up the staircase, Natsu raced to the room his team mate was occupying with the girls (and cats) quick to follow. He kicked the door down and scanned the room... And they were NOT happy with what they saw. Gray was holding their guild master by the neck while the man flailed around in attempt to break free.

"Master!" The girls shouted. Erza readied her sword, Lucy grabbed one of her keys and Wendy hurried over to Porlyusica and began healing. The red-head was about to charged when she was halted by the pink haired male.

"Deliora!" The pyro boomed, tackling Gray's form to the ground. The attacked caused the demon to let go of Makarov.

"Bastard, unhand me!" Gray's red eyes glared into Natsu's onyx ones. His formed wriggled around trying to escape the dragon slayers grasp.

"Gray, I know you can hear me!" Natsu continued to yell. "You've got fight him! Don't let this bastard take control of you. Snap out of it Gray!"

"Shut up!" Gray voice changed into a harsh growl that resembled a beast. "Hyōma no Gekikō!" He roared in attempt of force Natsu off. However, he trail was futile. Despite the immense force, Natsu held on to his rivals wrists, taking the full blow of the attack.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried. "Get away from him!"

But Natsu refused. There was no way he was leaving Gray's side while that demon still had a hold of him. Erza sat by Makarov's side watching the event.

"T-the... cuff," he muttered, still trying to catch his breath.

Erza glanced across the floor so see an iron cuff sat not too far from Wendy and Porlyusica. The red-head called out to the girl who then grabbed hold of the item and chucked it her way. Erza then shouted to Natsu who, without turning around, pulled his hand away from the raven and a caught the cuff. Thank god for dragon senses he thought. Before Gray could do anymore damage, Natsu forced the cuff onto his right wrist, cutting off his magic.

"Bastard," he yelled, pushing Natsu away. He rose from his position and tried to activate the magic he robbed from his host, but to no avail.

"Natsu, are you alright?" Happy asked with concern in his eyes.

Completely ignoring his partner, Natsu attempted to reach out to Gray. "C'mon Gray, don't let this thing beat you. Even I know you're stronger than this. If you're just giving up here that makes you nothing less of a coward. You're pathetic!"

At this, Gray's form fell down on one knee and clutched his head. "Give up ice wizard!" he screamed. "The more you fight me, the worse it'll be for you and your friends when I take full control."

"What should we do?" Lucy whispered to her team mates as Deliora roared. "We need to help him."

"Just follow my lead," Natsu instructed and went back to shouting. "What's your Dad gonna think when he finds out you were done in by Deliora, huh? You still haven't fulfilled your promise to him yet. He'll never forgive you if he finds out this demon got the better of you!"

"What do you think Ur and Ultear will think when they find out their sacrifices were in vain? Don't disappoint them," Erza joined in.

"Natsu-san, Erza-san, don't you think you're being a little harsh on him?" Wendy muttered.

"It's necessary to snap him out of it," Carla stated.

"Ain't no way…" Gray's form mumbled. Something was different. The whole time Gray had been possessed, his voice had altered. But this time, he sounded like himself. "Ain't no way I'm losing to you, Deliora!"

The raven's eyes returned to their original colour, but soon rolled to the back of his head as his form crumpled to the ground. As done before, Natsu ran up to catch him before his face made impact with the wooden floorboards. "It's over," he sighed.

"For now," Makarov continued. "Things are only going to get worse from here on out. We need to find out how he got possessed in the first place and find a way to save him before Deliora can take full control."

"I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do for him," Porlyusica rose from her position after Wendy had finished her healing. "This will be a race against time. Once Deliora does take full control, Gray's soul will be destroyed in order to hold the demon's instead. And there will be no way to save him after that. Gray will die."

* * *

 **Dun, dun, duuuuuuunnnnnnnn!**

 **Oh my gawd, have you guys heard the new opening to the anime? God, I love it. It fits perfectly for the Natsu and Gray vs Mard Gear fight. Speaking of that, I can't wait for that to come out animated. The anime better do that fight justice. And I am not happy with the preview for the next episode. It showed Laxus going to save Gajeel after his fight with Torafuza. BTW spoilers ahead. NO! Gray is supposed to show up like a badass and use his Devil Slayer magic to one shot Tempesta. If they miss that out I may kill someone! Other than that, loved the past two episodes. :D**

 **Anyway, anime rant over. Now, the manga rant. Oh boy, the next chapter is called Naked Battle. I can already sense the fan service terrorising us. Oh well, at least I have volume fifty to enjoy while I wait for the naked Lucy scenes to be over.**

 **Don't forget to do all those things I keep annoying you all about. :p**

 **See ya in the next one. ;)**


	6. He's Gone

**Yay! I'm updating on time! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: If only...**

* * *

It had been almost an hour since the group had witnessed the ordeal with Deliora. Porlyusica had since returned to her secluded home in the forest and Makarov had left to deliver the unfortunate news to the rest of the guild. This left Fairy Tail's strongest team to watch over their comrade. Gray looked practically lifeless. He was no longer being tormented by nightmares, he just lay there, unmoving. It was almost as if he was completely frozen. The raven's pale complexion was devoid of life and if it weren't for the occasional rise and fall of his chest, the team would have considered him dead. The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop… that was until a very concerned water wizard began booming on the door.

"Everyone," her voice was shaking. "It's Juvia. May she come in?"

"Of course," Erza got up from the armchair she was occupying to greet Juvia at the door. The blunette's eyes were puffed up as tears flooded down her face. She held both hands to her heart and gripped her chest tightly. The red-head couldn't blame her. She had been living with the ice wizard for six months after the guild disbanded until Erza had robbed his focus. They'd only reunited not so long ago and now the raven was in this predicament. It had surely made an impact on the girl.

"How's Gray-sama?" she choked, trying to look over Erza shoulder to get a glimpse of her beloved.

The requip wizard just bowed her head and moved over to the side to let Juvia pass. The girl raced up to Gray's bedside and took his hand in hers. "Is it true, what Master said? Is Gray-sama really possessed by Deliora?"

"I'm afraid so, Juvia," Lucy frowned, not wanting to make eye contact with the heartbroken teen.

"Wendy-san, is there nothing you can do?" more tears began falling.

"I'm sorry, Juvia-san…" Wendy muttered, holding her head in her hands.

The room returned to silence, each individual still trying to come to terms with the recent events. One question filled their minds. _Was there anything they could do?_ Not even Lucy had a single indication of how to resolve the issue and she's the smartest on the team. Natsu was stood, leaning against the wall, opposite Gray's bed. His onyx eyes never once left his rival. Though he didn't show it, Natsu was in full on panic mode. From the moment he'd realised Gray was possessed the thought of losing his team mate kept swimming around in his mind. This was a very familiar feeling to him. The Salamander thought back to their run in with the Avatar cult, back to when Gray was acting as the enemy. He hated to compliment the guy, but damn, he could act. Natsu had really thought that he'd lost his friend… and yes, Natsu considered Gray his friend. The fear that shook his form was almost overwhelming. Of course, the pair were used to fighting each other, but in a serious fight? Natsu constantly boasts about his strength, but he isn't exactly sure that he can beat Gray. They've been evenly matched ever since they were young, their fights ending in a stalemate every time. Plus, Gray received a huge power-up last year during the fight with Tartarus. He was a frigging Devil Slayer now! During the pyro's year of training, whenever he felt too exhausted to go on, his thoughts would always go to the idiots he always spars with. Knowing that Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, heck, even Elfman were constantly getting stronger were the sole things to keep the dragon slayer going. Now seeing his friend, no, his brother in such a hopeless and life threatening state scared him more than any battled he had to overcome. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something. Pushing himself off the wall, he addressed the rest of the room. "So is this it then? Is this what we're gonna do until Deliora takes hold of him again? Sit around surrounded by our own concern. No way! We need to get out there and do something about this."

The girls all looked towards him, some in shock, and some with pride. Lucy still didn't see the hope Natsu was trying to deliver. "What are we supposed to do though?" she sulked.

"I dunno. Just something. Anything's better that sitting here and watching him go through torture."

The four girls shared a smile between each other, nodding in agreement. Natsu was right. Happy chuckled slightly from the raven's bedside. "See Natsu," he grinned. "You really do care about Gray."

"Wha… Shut up!"

The room erupted in chuckles. Of course, those two would be the people to raise everyone's spirits. They always do. The remainder of their time spent in the room was taken up with light hearted (all be it awkward) conversation, until Makarov reappeared through the door and beckoned them all into his office. Outside waiting for the team were Gajeel, Cana and Loke. Lucy would have been confused if it weren't for the fact that Loke showed up at the guild quite often; considering one of his friends, no, his best friend was in danger, there was no surprise the spirit and made an unannounced visit. The group of eight (eleven if you include the guild's Exceeds) gathered around their tiny master.

"The reason I have called you all here is – as you already know – one of our own is in a life threatening situation and unless we take action against this, he will not be saved. Therefore I have decided that I will split you up into teams. Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel and the Exceeds with travel to Galuna Island to where Deliora was last seen. I want you to scour the island until you find any information that could help. Talk to the villagers, examine the temple, do whatever you can. Natsu, Loke, Cana and Juvia, I want you all to remain here and don't let Gray out of your sight. If Deliora manages to take control of him again, I'm certain that you four will be able to snap him out of it. If he insists on leaving the guild hall, follow him and I don't care how stubborn he's being, do NOT leave him alone. Erza, if you learn anything, use this Communication Lacrima to inform me of your findings."

"Understood," the red-head replied, taking the Lacrima.

"We don't have much time. There's no telling how close Deliora is to completing the full possession on Gray but it must be escalating fast. No slacking off, you hear?" This was directed towards the two male dragon slayers.

"We won't!" they both rolled their eyes.

"Then let's get to work!" Loke yelled, which was returned with an "Aye" from the rest of the group.

* * *

As Erza and co said their goodbyes, Natsu and Juvia directed Loke and Cana towards the room their icy companion was occupying. As the door slowly creaked open, gasps flooded the room. The bed sheets had been thrown aside and the raven was nowhere in sight. A window had been wafted open causing the curtains to flail around in the breeze.

"Where the hell did that bastard go?!" Natsu roared, though not loud enough for the lower floor to hear.

"D'ya think Deliora took control of him again?" Cana questioned.

"If that were true, wouldn't Deliora try to attack the guild?" Juvia pointed out.

"I know I haven't known Gray as long as you guys," Loke spoke up, gesturing to Natsu and Cana, "but doesn't this seem like a very Gray thing to do? He's panicking about Deliora hurting his family again so he's run away to be alone therefore preventing any risk of hurting us."

Cana sighed. "He's got a point. That idiots been tryin' to isolate himself from others ever since he joined the guild. Pretty lousy attempt if you ask me."

"Okay… So where do you guy's think he's gone?" Natsu asked, pacing around the perimeter of the room, hoping to find some sort of clue.

"Juvia has an idea," the timid girl mumbled.

"We're all ears."

"Gray-sama… may have gone to Isvan; to where his parents' grave is located."

"Kinda taking the term 'return to the scene of the crime' literal, huh?" Cana rolled her eyes.

"Juvia!" Natsu cried, shocking the water wizard. "You've been to Isvan with Gray before, you know how to get there?"

"Juvia's sorry. She cannot remember the exact way to get to Isvan… but she knows someone who might!"

* * *

Team Erza were already setting sail from Hargeon and towards their destination. The two dragon slayers were already vomiting over the side of the boat, leaving Lucy, Erza and the Exceeds alone in their thoughts.

"It seems like forever since we last came here," Lucy murmured, smiling slightly.

"And if I recall, you were never properly punished for your previous actions," Erza pointed out.

"C'mon Erza," a serious look adorned Happy's features. "Is now really the time to be dishing out punishment? We've got bigger things to worry about."

"Would someone mind filling us in," Lily spoke up, confusion covered his and Carla's face.

"Aye. Shortly after Lucy joined the guild, Natsu and I took an S-Class job from the second floor."

"That…idiot," Gajeel chuckled before gagging some more.

"We convinced Lucy to come along with us and we all set off for Hargeon. But when the guild found out, Master sent Gray to come and bring us home."

"And I'm sure that went well," Carla added, sarcastically.

"We ended up dragging him along."

"Of course," the Exceeds sighed.

"Anyways… we started exploring the island and eventually made our way into a temple. Natsu broke the floor and we all went crashing into a cave. Then we found this huge demon frozen in ice and Gray started freaking out. He told us that the demon was Deliora and that his master sealed away the demon ten years… well technically now it was eighteen years ago. His old friend Lyon was trying to melt the ice around Deliora so he could kill it and surpass their master. He managed to succeed, however when the ice melted, Deliora's body crumpled away and he was dead."

"Then maybe it was only his physical body that died," Erza muttered, frowning.

* * *

"You want me to what?" Lyon Vastia, one of Lamia Scales' strongest wizards and Gray's childhood friend, asked.

"Show us the way to Gray's old home town, what about this aren't you understanding," Natsu snarled.

"Can't you just ask Gray? Not that he'd want to show you anyway. The place was never rebuilt out of respect for the people who were killed. There's probably still bones scattered around the place."

"I highly doubt that," Cana mumbled to herself, recalling Juvia's story about the necromancer.

"Lyon stop making things difficult and just show us the way," Loke was growing impatient. From hearing Gray's stories about the silver haired wizard, he'd grown to hate the man.

"Calm down kitty. Look, I'm not gonna show you anywhere without an explanation first."

It was at this point that Juvia finally spoke up. "Lyon-sama, please. Gray-sama has run off and we think he may have gone back to Isvan. We need to find Gray-sama before it's too late."

"Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean _too late_?"

The Fairies went silent. How could they tell him? How were they supposed to explain to Lyon that his younger brother figure was possessed by the demon that tormented them through childhood?

"Natsu," the ice wizard glared towards him.

"Gray is… well he's…" Natsu couldn't find the words. He left it to Cana to finish his sentence.

"Gray's possessed by Deliora, Lyon."

Lyon could have sworn that he heart had stopped the second the brunette had delivered the information across. It wasn't possible. Deliora was dead; he and Gray, heck even Natsu had witnessed the demon crumble away into nothing on Galuna Island eight years ago. There was no way it was still alive. The man suddenly found himself short of breath, when was the last time he took in oxygen? He honestly couldn't remember. Lyon's mind was racing at light speed. He rapidly took one forceful breath, causing him to choke himself back to his senses. The four Fairies were all staring at him in concern. This had to be a lot to take in for him. Lyon finally found his voice after what felt like a century.

"O-okay. I'll take you to Isvan."

* * *

 **I just HAD to involve Lyon in this fic! But jee, I wonder what's going to happen to Gray? *Sniggers***

 **We've also passed the halfway point with this fic now. Time flies so fast. I gotta say, I really love how this fic is going but I really can't wait to get started on something knew, I've already got two other Gray fics I wanna start working on. :p**

 **Hope you all enjoying this fic so far! Don't forget to leave a review... I like reviews... :p**

 **Adios!**


	7. Off to Isvan

**Hello. Here's another chapter just fort you! :D**

 **Disclaimer: Well...**

* * *

Erza's group had just docked at the shore of Galuna Island, Gajeel and Wendy being the first to bound out of the wooden boat celebrating the fact that they had returned to solid ground. The red-head quickly reorganised the group and directed them towards the village. The joyous faces of the demon race occupying the island were seen at every angle as three of their heroes marched through the open gates. Some murmurs could be heard throughout the crowds, many asking "I wonder where Gray-san and Natsu-san are?" and "I wonder if anything's happened to them." The island chieftain, Moka emerged from the hordes of villagers with his son, Bobo, quick to follow.

"It is a pleasure to have you return to our Island, Erza-sama, Lucy-sama," Moka greeted.

"What brings you to Galuna?" Bobo asked, sending a toothy grin their way.

"One of our comrades is in a dire situation," Erza bowed her head in order to hide her apprehensive expression.

"Would you mind if we take a look around the temple? We need to go back to where Deliora used to be kept."

"By all means, go ahead," Bobo's expression turned serious. "Does this have something to do with why Natsu and Gray haven't accompanied you?"

The groups' faces turned downcast (more than they already had been) which was enough to inform the village of the urgency of the situation. The crowds of demons parted allowing the Fairies to walk by and into the forest.

"So, where are we goin' exactly?" Gajeel wondered, sending a look towards their so called _team leader._

"To Deliora's last known location," Erza replied bluntly, leaving the two dragon slayers in confusion.

"The cave below the ruined temple," the blonde finished, pointing at the cracked structure in the distance. The group then picked up their pace and continued their journey through the forest.

* * *

Natsu's team – now including Lyon – had hopped off the train after what felt like half a day's journey. This plus the boat ride over to Isvan was enough to temporarily incapacitate the pink haired dragon slayer. So the minute the exited the vehicle the teen was leaping around like a giddy child. "Finally! Solid ground!" The Salamander wailed, earning a few slight chuckles from Juvia, Loke and Cana. Lyon, on the other hand, remained deadly serious.

"Well then," he began, "can you pick up Gray's scent anywhere?"

Natsu's demeanour quickly reverted back to his previous concerned one as he began to sniff the air for his rivals scent. His eyes widened which in turn causing his four companions to bombard him with questions. "He's this way," was their only response as Natsu darted off in a direction and the other followed behind.

Unnoticed to anyone aside from Juvia, the group had run straight past Silver and Mika's grave that of which was donned in freshly picked flowers. _Gray-sama must have come past here,_ Juvia thought. The group continued to run until they found themselves at a frozen lake. A lone figure was seen sat beside the ice, staring down at his own reflection. He didn't need to look up to realise his guild had come looking. "How did you find me?" He muttered, just barely loud enough for his search party to hear.

"You're as predictable as you always have been, Gray," Lyon replied, masking his concern for his younger brother.

"You guys really brought Lyon into this?!" The raven's voice rose slightly, fear evident in the way his words shook.

"Gray, we get it. You're freaking out 'bout this whole possession thing," Cana yelled, enough for her friend to hear her clearly. "But how the hell do you think you're gonna get any help if you run away."

"I'm not willing to take the risk…" Gray muttered.

Only Natsu managed to pick up the last statement. "Afraid of what? Afraid that you'll hurt us? If Deliora takes control of you we'll just snap you out of it like we've been doing."

"Yeah well what happens when that plan fails, huh?!" Gray was practically screaming at this point. "Deliora's just gonna keep getting stronger to the point where I won't be able to fight him anymore. What are you gonna do then?!"

"Gray…" Loke answered. "Just come home. We've already got people out looking for a way to help you. If you…"

"Just leave me alone!" Gray's voice boomed.

"Gray…" Lyon began walking over to his brother. "You don't have to face this by yourself. Ur and I didn't let you stand against Deliora alone the first time and I'm definitely not going to do that now." He placed a hand on the raven's shoulder.

It was at this point that sinister purple ice shot out from Gray's being, forcing the silver-haired wizard back a few feet. Juvia called out the two ice wizards' names but the only response she was giving was an evil glance from her love interest. "You heard, the boy wants to be left alone."

And for a third time that day, Gray had fallen to Deliora's wrath.

* * *

Team Erza clambered over rocks and debris, delving further and further into the cave. Eventually, the pathway came to an end, leaving the group staring down at the crater that once held Deliora's physical form. The icy water that was once Ur had since all washed out and merged with the ocean, with only tiny droplets of water remaining scattered around the area. The atmosphere gave off an ominous vibe and the party of seven immediately found what they were searching for. In the centre of the crater lay an open book. Erza was the first to reach the haunting literature and after further inspecting, realised that the contents of the book were completely blank, not a single drop of ink on a single page. The front cover read _Deliora_ in a fancy font. The red-head's eyes widened; something was wrong.

"If this is the book of Deliora then why are there no inscriptions?" Erza pondered.

"I can't sense any magic radiating off it either," Wendy added.

"It just smells like an ordinary book," Gajeel pointed out.

"Maybe you were right, Erza," Lucy ran over to her team mate. "Maybe only Deliora's physical body was destroyed, but his book still remained. The reason the book is empty is because Deliora's spirit isn't currently occupying it."

"It would seem that way," Pantherlily concluded.

"So all we need to do is get Deliora's spirit back in his book and destroy it, right?" Happy questioned.

"But the only problem is, how?" Carla inquired.

* * *

Lyon was frozen in place (metaphorically of course) as he witnessed his younger brother be controlled by that monster. Gray's form rose from his sitting position until he was fully turned around to star into the nervous eyes of his search party. Loke's hazel eyes spoke of concern. Hearing about the possession was nothing compared to actually observing it first-hand. The fact that it was his best friend only made everything worse. Cana was feeling similar emotions, but all her brown eyes showed was anger. Anger that her first friend's life was on the line because of this demon. Natsu's onyx eyes revealed hatred. He despised the Deliora from the moment he'd heard his rival's story of his past. Nothing hurts Natsu's friends and lives to tell the tale. Lyon's jet black eyes were the only ones that Deliora couldn't read. So many emotions were flowing through his darkened irises that it was impossible for anyone to understand what the man was thinking. Without warning, the silver haired wizard charged towards the demon, fists full of ice and he brought them together to perform his magic.

"Ice-Make: Eagle!" His voice boomed throughout the snowy battle field.

Gray's form chuckled as he let Lyon's attack come flying towards him. The ice eagles soared and crashed into his body… Well, that's what they thought. As each iced bird flew at Gray one by one, the teen grabbed them by the wings and chomped his newly lengthened fangs down upon them. "Thanks for the meal," the demon taunted. "Ya know, your ice doesn't taste as bad as I thought it would."

Lyon would have retaliated if it weren't for the fact that he was practically kicking himself in his mind. How could he forget? His younger brother's been a frigging devil slayer for the past year. It was a rookie mistake. Suddenly, an ominous purple glow surrounded Gray's being and the black markings he donned during the Avatar incident grew across the right half of his body. His irises burned and even more sinister shade of red as a menacing laugh escaped from his lips. Gradually, the ice wizard's forearms twitched more and more until they began changing. Both hands were now pure black as his finger began to grow and his nails sharpened a considerable amount. The laughter only got more intense as the team watched purplish black horns spike out from his messy raven hair. There was one word that could describe him: inhuman. To say the spectators were shocked was an understatement; this was going to be a lot harder than they thought. Without warning, Gray charged. Lyon was far too lost in his own thoughts to even notice the demonic figure racing towards him. It was only when Natsu leaped in front of him to counter the demon's punch that he was brought back to his senses.

"Natsu don't hurt him!" Lyon roared.

"It's a little late for tha-" Natsu cut himself off once he'd turned to glance at the silver-haired wizard. Lyon was...

 _Crying_

"Lyon-sama…" Juvia murmured. She could only imagine what turmoil the older male was going through.

Natsu turned back to Gray to see him, sword in hand, swinging down at the Salamander. The fire wizard would have countered with an attack of his own if it weren't for Lyon's words still ringing through his mind. He was right though. Any damage they do to the demon will also be dealt to Gray. The poor guy was already going through enough, attacking him would only add salt to the wound. So he stood there, and took the attack. The frozen sword cut through the top of Natsu's right shoulder and down to the centre of his abdomen, leaving a fresh gush of blood to stain his ripped clothing. Cana took this as her moment to jump into action. She pulled out three cards and prepared her attack.

"Heaven! Reverse Death! Mountain! Summon Lightning!" The green tinted lightning shot out of her cards and darted towards the demonic figure.

The demonic roar that was released form Gray's lips pierced through his opponents' ears. Cana was too disorientated to realise Gray was already in front of her, sending an ice punch to her cheek. The impact was enough to slice her left cheek, only just missing her jaw. When Loke realised Gray was going for another swing, he swiftly pushed her to the side, causing the demon's ice to tear through the spirits torso. Juvia stood a distance away from the group. She just couldn't do it. There was no way that the blunette could bring herself to hurt her beloved, but her friends were suffering and if she didn't do something soon, their own lives could be at risk. If Gray came back to his senses to realise he'd done this to his friends, no, his family, the raven would never forgive himself. Juvia prayed for the ice wizard's forgiveness before running into the fray.

"Water Lock!" The blunette screamed, lifting Gray's form off his feet into a tight water bubble.

Gray's laughter just increased as he sent an evil glare towards Juvia. The water bubble froze instantly and the teen broke free. Juvia was preparing another attack but soon found it unnecessary as her silver haired friend was now charging towards the demonic figure and tackling him to the ground.

"Gray, snap out of it!" The desperate wizard cried. "It's me, Lyon. C'mon Gray, you gotta fight it. Don't let yourself be done in by this bastard. Please, Gray!" Lyon tears were falling more rapidly as they scattered onto his younger brother's darkened skin.

The raven was completely un-phased by the ridiculous act from the older male. The next thing Lyon knew, he was being thrown to the side of Gray and his back made contact with the frozen lake. This caused the sheet of ice to smash open and the man was submerged in the sub-zero water. Gray regained his posture and quickly refroze the lake to prevent Lyon from resurfacing. Deliora let out a menacing chuckle, but he soon fell silent when he felt a warm substance trickling down his cheeks. They were tears. _Gray's tears._ Wiping the tendrils away with the back of his claw, Gray's form made a mad dash away from his friends. Juvia stood for a moment, debating whether to follow her beloved or stay back to help Lyon. Her decision wasn't hard as she heard the almost silent banging on the ice as the man struggled to hold his breath. Gray would have to wait. Juvia rushed over to the thin layer of purple ice and began bashing on the slippery exterior. The others did their best to help, but the extent of their injuries prevented them from moving too much. Lyon could feel his lungs burning. He needed air, NOW! He glanced up into Juvia's ocean blue eyes until he could no longer take the pressure. It felt as if walls were closing in on him as dark spots dancing around his vision. The next thing he knew, the silver haired man felt his body grow weak and he was forced to take in a breath. He felt the water quickly travel into his lungs and the last thing he saw was Juvia's panicked expression with tears dripping onto his brother's ice.

"LYON-SAMA!"

* * *

 **Hurray for cliffhangers! No... okay... :p**

 **Gray's becoming even more demonic now, mwuhahahaha!**

 **So... was anyone else annoyed that they changed the bit in the anime with Tempesta? I mean, I'm glad that they did show Gray saving Gajeel in the end - and the way he just walked away from Gajeel made me laugh so much - but they didn't show how badass Gray's new magic is by not showing him one-shotting Tempesta. And they didn't show the bit when his eye went all weird which I was looking forward to. :(**

 **Oh well, the manga is getting interesting at least, now that we've past the chapter of fan service *shudders***

 **So since this fic is almost over (I'm guessing about two or three more chapters) I've been thinking about the next one. I have two ideas but can't decided which one to focus on. So I'm gonna leave it up to you guys to decide!**

 **Idea One: Kinda based off of Ice Trail in a way. The dark guild Five Bridge Familia have been given the task of hunting down a certain Fairy Tail wizard (I don't need to specify which one right? :p). It's set before the Tartarus arc but does include spoilers for it.**

 **Idea Two: A slavery fic, 'coz I've seen lots of different ones going around lately so I thought I'd give it a go. During one of their brawls, Natsu and Gray are captured and taken to a slave camp, but there's another problem... it's in the desert. Natsu has to help the both of them escape before the heat becomes to much for Gray to handle. Set before Lucy joins the guild.**

 **So there you have it! Let me know which idea you prefer and I'll get to work on it once this fic is finished.**

 **Buh-Bye! ;)**


	8. A Race Against Time

**I'm soooooo sorry I missed the last update! Things have been so hectic in my drama class that I haven't been able to get this out. Ah well, better late than never right? And I shouldn't be missing anymore updates for this fic so don't worry. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FT.**

* * *

When Gray came to his senses, he found himself high up Isvan's mountain range and during a raging blizzard at that. Despite his near perfect eye sight, the raven couldn't see a thing. He brought his hand over to shield his face from the sharp blasts of snow and was taken aback at what he saw. A pure black claw took the place of his hand with dried blood stuck around the fingernails. That's when he started remembering, everything. Right from the beginning when his friends and showed up out of concern. He honestly couldn't blame them. If any one of Gray's friends were in this kind of situation, the teen would be by their side in a heartbeat to help if all possible. They'd even gone as far as to call upon Lyon to aid the group in their search. Lyon. Gray's legs gave out on him at the thought. He could have killed his brother. Heck, he had no clue whether the silver-haired man had made it out alive. He could only trust in his comrades now as there was no way Gray was stepping foot anywhere near another human with the vial demon lurking within his being. Gray continued to pray for their safety as more tears fell from his demonic eyes. Why couldn't everything just stop?

* * *

"LYON-SAMA!" Juvia screamed as her comrade's eyes fell shut and his last breath escaped his lungs. She continued to bang on the ice as the limp figure began sinking through the cold water. "NATSU-SAN!" She cried over to the fire wizard who was trying with all his might to stop the tendrils of blood flowing out of the gash on the right of his torso. "NATSU-SAN, PLEASE! LYON-SAMA IS..." She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.

After gathering his thoughts, Natsu dashed over to the tearful girl to assess the situation. Igniting his fists, the Salamander sent punch after punch at the purple ice until his fists turned black and blue. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He roared. "I can't melt devil ice."

"But Lyon-sama..."

It was at this point the rest of the team joined them, Loke using Cana for support. The brunette scanned the frozen lake until she found a miracle. "Guys, there's a crack in the ice over there." Sure enough, there was the tiniest crack in the tinted sheet of ice. The team scurried over and all bag and bashing at it until a hole big enough to fit a person through was created. Juvia could only think that her beloved must have come back to his senses causing his ice to weaken. Without a second thought, the blunette dived down into the chilly water and swam at the speed of light towards her friend. Lyon's floated lifelessly at the bottom of the lake causing Juvia's panic to increase. Grabbing hold of the limp form, she created an oxygen bubble wide enough to fit the silver haired man's head inside.

"Lyon-sama, please wake up," Juvia murmured, shaking his form.

When the man didn't respond Juvia placed one hand hovering over his nose and mouth searching for his breaths. After feeling none, Juvia rapidly checked for his pulse. There was one. Juvia would have sighed with relief if it weren't for the fact that Lyon's pulse was getting weaker by the second. Pulling him into a warm embrace, the water wizard shot back up to the surface, bursting through the hole in the ice. After landing with a soft thud, Juvia placed the unconscious man down on the soft snow and the others gathered around his form. Lyon's once spiked hair was now tangled and falling down in front of his face which made him resemble a silver-haired version of his younger brother.

"Lyon-sama isn't breathing!" Juvia suddenly yelled towards her comrades.

Cana mumbled something under her breath before kneeling down next to the Lamia wizard and began doing compressions. The rest of the team watched with battened breath, praying with all their might that the man lying in front of them would open his charcoal eyes. Cana continued in her attempt at Lyon. _Dammit Lyon, if you die on us now Gray'll never forgive himself_ , she thought. After another five minutes, a gasp resonated through the snowy plain. Lyon's eyes flew open as he rolled to the side in order to cough the foreign substance out of his lungs.

"Lyon-sama!" Juvia let her tears freely fall at the sight.

"G-" Lyon muffled through harsh coughs. "G-Gray."

"He's gone Lyon," Loke hid his face from view.

"We'll continue the search after we've patched up our wounds," Cana added.

"…Fine," the ice wizard was reluctant to take a break, but he wasn't as stubborn as his younger brother and agreed without complaints. His eyes soon fell shut again as he let the sweet release of slumber take over him.

"C'mon," Natsu instructed. "We'll find an inn somewhere to stay at while we recover. Then, it's back to finding Gray."

The others nodding before following Natsu away from their battle field with Cana wrapping an arm around the blunette for comfort.

* * *

The guild doors swung open with a _BOOM!_ revealing Erza and the rest of her team as they stormed over to a table that was currently being occupied by team Shadow Gear.

"Shrimp, we need your help with something," Gajeel called over to his former partner.

"You're back! How did the search go?" Jet and Droy interrupted.

Makarov didn't waste any time in joining the conversation. "Did you find a way to save Gray?"

"We're not quite sure yet," Wendy shook her head in disappointment.

"Levy-chan, we need you to take a look at this book," Lucy mentioned as the red-head paced the book on the table.

"What is it?"

"The Book of Deliora," Happy replied, blankly.

"EH?!"

"We found the book in the same location you said Deliora was last seen," Pantherlily explained. "After looking at the book, we realised that it was empty."

"We think that when Deliora crumbled away eight years ago, only his physical body was destroyed while his spirit still remained," Carla finished.

"Levy, you think you can find a way to seal Deliora back in his book?" Erza questioned as everyone stared the small girl down.

"I'm not sure…" everyone's faces turned bleak. "…But I can sure as hell try!"

"You can do it Levy! We believe in you!" Jet and Droy cried in unison.

"Please hurry Levy," Makarov begged. "We're running out of time."

* * *

 _Aww… Poor little Fullbuster_ , a voiced mocked inside his head.

"Leave me alone!" Gray tried to yell, however it only came out as a quiet whimper.

 _Not a chance when I'm on the verge of breaking you_ , the voice continued.

"Leave me alone," Gray repeated, even quieter than before.

 _I can feel it too you know. Your body is far too weakened to keep you going like this. It won't be long until your time finally comes._

"Leave…me alone."

 _Your energy's being drained even as we speak. Not to mention your magic's running on empty._

"Shut…up."

 _How does it feel knowing you've killed your own brother?_

"I-I didn't."

 _Oh, but you did Gray. You've destroyed your only connection with the past… Well, that's not entirely true. You still have me._

"Leave me…alone."

 _Why do you fight me so, boy? You're only going to make this harder on yourself._

"I… told you… I'll… never stop… fighting you."

 _Stubborn even to your last breath, I see. This will make things far more satisfying when I kill off your pathetic guild._

"You… wouldn't…"

 _Yes, I would, but you'll be long gone by the time that happens. You should be grateful, I'm allowing you to reunite with your friends in the afterlife._

"No… you won't… My friends… are far… stronger than… I am… They'll kill you!"

 _Now I wouldn't be so sure about that. Would your friends want to risk damaging your body? Not that I blame them, this form is the perfect vessel for any demon. And I must tell you how glad I was that your pathetic excuse of a father gave you Devil Slayer magic. The demon particles in your body have only sped up the process of gaining complete possession over you._

"How dare… you talk… about… my father… like that…"

 _I can't be the only one seeing the irony in this. A year ago you're met with your supposedly deceased father only form him to tell you that he was possessed by the great Deliora. And now just look at the predicament you're in. I found it rather amusing watching you fight against that so called 'Deliora' as if you had a chance to beat me. Be honest with yourself, boy. You've been losing ever since you met me. Everyone you care about; you lose them all in the end._

"Sh-shut u-up," Gray choked out as barely a whisper. Deliora did have a point. First he loses his parents, then Ur, Ultear, Silver for a second time, and now he had possibly lost Lyon and was at risk of losing the last thing he called family.

* * *

As Levy – with the help of Erza, Lucy and Wendy – researched through every book at her disposal, Makarov was sat beside them with a Communication Lacrima placed in front of him. He was hoping to get in touch with the other group as after he went to check on them earlier, every one of them had vanished. He didn't think much of it at first but now his apprehension had grown. The tiny man had already tried to contact the wizards twice, each time with no response. This didn't bode well for them at all. Thankfully, on his third attempt, he was greeted with a pair of brown eyes with matching hair.

"Cana, thank goodness. How are things at your end and where are you?"

The girl in question finished downing her drink before responding. "We're in Isvan. Gray ran off so we picked up Lyon and all followed him here. The bastard's insistent on staying out of everyone's way so he doesn't hurt anyone."

"Typical Gray, he needs to stop trying to run away from all his problems," Erza sighed from the other side of the table.

"So where are the others?" Makarov asked with a worried expression adorning his features.

"Juvia's helping them patch up their wounds."

"Wounds?" Everyone questioned.

"Yeah… about that… While we were trying to talk Gray into coming home he kinda got possessed by Deliora and started attacking us."

"It wasn't like the other times, Gramps!" Natsu ran over to the Lacrima as soon as Juvia has finished wrapping his bandages. "This time when Deliora possessed him those black marking from his Devil Slayer magic came back. His hands turned into black claws and he had horns growing from out of his head."

"Things are escalating far quicker than we thought," Makarov pondered. "By the sound of things the _full possession_ is almost complete. We cannot let that happen or else they'll be no way to save Gray."

"Levy, have you found anything?" Happy ran up to the girl, pleading.

"I… I think I do!" Levy suddenly jumped up from her seat. "There's an incantation written in one of my books. It's used to get lost souls back to where they belong so it should also get Deliora's soul back inside the book."

The rest of Natsu's team gathered around the Lacrima. "That's perfect Levy-san!" Juvia cried tears of joy.

"There's one problem. If Deliora's soul is strong when it's put back into the book, the writings in it will reappear."

"What do you mean?" Gajeel inquired.

"It means that if what Master says is true and that the _full possession_ is almost complete, putting Deliora's soul back inside the book straight away means that Deliora can regain his physical form."

"We can't let that happen! My master sealed away that demon, there is no way we're bringing it back!" Lyon roared, joining the Fairies around the Lacrima.

"Levy, is there anything else we can do?" Loke queried.

"The only solution would be to beat Deliora – or Gray – in a fight. The pressure of battle will weaken his strength and we'll be able to destroy the book without Deliora regaining his true form."

"That also means harming Gray-san," Wendy mentioned.

"Plus what if the full possession is complete before we can beat him?" Carla added.

"I'll do it." Natsu stated.

"Natsu are you sure you can do it? You can't melt devil ice," Erza pointed out, remembering their job at the Sun Village.

"No, I can do it. I told Gray that if Deliora took control of him again that I would snap him out of it again."

"This also means you'll have to harm Gray-sama," Juvia clasped her shaky hands together.

"If it helps us get Gray back, I'll do it."

"Okay then everyone," the groups directed their attention towards their master. "Erza and the others will travel over to Isvan with the book and the incantation. Natsu, your group needs to find Gray. Please be careful and hurry. We're in a race against time."

* * *

 _How about we make a deal, Gray._

"Wha-what do you… mean?"

 _You give up now and I'll let your precious friends live._

Gray went silent for a while. "You… promise to… leave them… alone."

 _You have my word._

"Fine… I give up…

You win, Deliora."

* * *

 **Gray NOOOOOOOOOO! Teehee!**

 **The anime is getting sooooo close to Natsu & Gray vs Mard Gear and I'm way too excited! Even after that, we have the friggin' Avatar arc and we'll get to see Gray be even more badass!**

 **Thanks for reading as usual.**

 **Have a nice day everyone! ;)**


	9. A Battle on Two Fronts

**Better get this chapter out before EternalFlame401 kills me!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own it.**

* * *

From the moment the morning sun crept over the horizon, the two Fairy Tail teams set off. Knowing that they had a mere few hours to complete their tasks was enough to give them the determination they needed. There was no time to show worry or concern; the only thing that mattered right now was Gray's safety. Erza's team - now including Levy - raced to Hargeon and were on the first boat out to Isvan. They had a long journey ahead of them and only prayed that they make it to their destination in time. Natsu's group returned back to their previous battle field in hopes of tracking down their missing comrade. The once frozen lake was now shattered with large chunks of purple ice still floating in the water. They took this as a bad sign. Setting off in the direction Gray fled the previous day, the group began discussing battle strategies in order to defeat Deliora with minimal amount of damage to Gray.

"Lyon, I know you're gonna hate this idea but it would be best if you didn't fight against Deliora," Cana glanced towards the silver-haired man.

"She's right Lyon," Loke added. "If you use any of your ice magic Gray - Deliora even - will just consume the ice like he did yesterday. You'd only be adding fuel to the fire."

"Once Deliora is back inside the book, Lyon-sama can deliver the final blow," Juvia smiled towards her friend.

Lyon nodded. As much as he hated not having a part in saving his younger brother, what the Fairies were saying did make sense. If Deliora got hold of any more magic it would only speed up the possession process. They all looked over to Natsu who was running quite the distance ahead of the others. What they couldn't see was the pure rage and determination evident in his features. The Salamander's mind never left Gray. He wasn't going to let anything get in his way of bringing his rival home. Natsu thought back to the aftermath of Tartarus last year.

* * *

 _After saying one last tearful goodbye to his father Igneel, Natsu had returned to where the rest of his guild mates were currently located. Each member donned a saddening expression. Wendy was crying her eyes out while Gajeel tried to comfort her, though he didn't look much better. Sting and Rogue didn't look very happy either. Natsu could only assume that he wasn't the only one saying goodbye to his dragon parent. Lucy held a mournful expression as she discussed recent events with Erza, who looked pretty shaken up herself. Porlyusica was giving the antidote to Laxus and the others; at least something good came out of this fight. Gray was sat with his back against a rock, his wounds still bleeding profusely. The ice wizard looked much paler than usual and his breaths came out in rapid pants. Natsu was about to go and question his rival's condition but came to an abrupt halt when he heard Makarov instructing the guild to return to the parts of Magnolia that were still in one piece in order to get people's wounds check out. The crowd of injured wizards soon followed along the beaten path. As Natsu sparked a conversation with his team mates, he began to notice Gray slacking behind. The Salamander decided to fall back to check up on the raven._

 _"Hey, you alright?"_

 _"I'm... fine," Gray replied through pants. He clearly wasn't fine._

 _Suddenly, the teen lost his footing and went pitching to the side. Luckily for him, Natsu's reflexes activated and he caught the ice wizard before he could get close to the floor. "You're clearly not fine," Natsu stated. "Your physical wounds look bad enough but you've used up way too much magic today too."_

 _"I'm... fine," Gray repeated, willing his body to move._

 _ _Natsu sighed before pulling the ice wizard onto his back, much to Gray's annoyance, to carry him the rest of the way. "Get some rest." He paused. "I don't know how you did it, but thanks for saving me, droopy eyes."__

 _ _Gray couldn't hide the small smile upon hearing this. Natsu smiled back in return as his watched the dazed black eyes slowly fall shut.__

 _ _A few hours later Gray woke up to the comfort of his own bed. How did he get here? Did someone bring him here? The raven rolled his head to the side and confirmed his thoughts as he saw pink-spiked hair next to his bed side. His rival was casually stroking a sleeping Happy.__

 _ _"You finally woke up," Natsu smiled, placing the Exceed on a small cushion.__

 _ _"How long have I been out?" Gray inquired, running a hand through his raven locks.__

 _ _"Only a few hours. Gramps told me to take you home after you'd had your wounds patched up."__

 _ _Sure enough, Gray pulled away the covers to see that almost every inch of his being was wrapping in pure white bandages, with the occasional blood stains here and there. It was as if Halloween came early.__

 _ _"Listen, what you did earlier..." He was quickly cut off.__

 _ _"Natsu, I..."__

 _ _"Gray, just listen. I'm not asking you to talk about what ever happened between you and the Devil Slayer. Just... When you took that Memento Mori attack head on and collapsed. It freaked me out. I thought it had killed you. Don't scare me like that again, okay? I already lost Igneel, I don't wanna risk losing my rival too."__

 _ _"Sorry," Gray looked away, not entirely sure how he'd pulled off such a feat himself.__

 _ _"And when we've all recovered from this fight. I wanna be the first one to see how strong your new magic is."__

 _ _Gray couldn't help but laugh at the statement. "You're gonna have to up your game, Flamebrain. There's no way you're winning against me."__

 _ _"Hah, you're on, Popsicle!"__

 _ _Gray jumped out of the bed, his signature smirk showing on his face. The two teens were about to throw down when they heard a soft purring coming from Happy who was now in the midst of waking up.__

 _ _"Guys, you're being too loud," the feline yawned, rubbing his eyes.__

 _ _"Sorry Happy," they both smiled down at the petite figure.__

 _ _"We should probably go back and help the others clear out all the rubble," Natsu sighed. "Feel free to join us if you feel up for it." He smiled a toothy grin towards Gray before running out of the door.__

 _ _Gray glanced towards the floorboards. His father wouldn't want him to isolate himself in his own misery after witnessing the man's death a second time. Gray quickly changed out of his tattered trousers and into some proper clothes before dashing out the door after his friend. "Wait up, Natsu!"__

* * *

After following Natsu's nose for at least an hour, they group had been lead to a clearing high up Isvan's mountain range. The fire dragon came to an abrupt stop, causing confusion amongst the others.

"Natsu, why'd we stop?" Loke asked, walking up to the pink-haired teen.

The Salamander failed to respond. Allowing his senses to be he guide, the male scanned the surrounding area.

"He's here right," Cana assumed, placing her hands on her hips.

After another few seconds of silence, a funnel of ice and snow was sent straight in their direction. Luckily for the group, Lyon put up a shield that just about managed to keep everyone safe from the blow. When the attack ceased, Lyon made sure to dispel his shield.

"What? Was the first beating not enough for you idiots?" The demon mocked, striding towards the group.

"Gray-sama," Juvia muttered.

"If you're thinking that you can shout a few words to bring the boy back, you're out of luck. The idiot already gave up," Deliora gave a heartless chuckle, showing his fangs.

"No... No he wouldn't!" Lyon yelled, his frustration growing by the second.

"There's no way Gray would give up!" Natsu roared. He'd known the raven since they were kids and the guy had never given up on anything before, why would he start now?

"Oh, but he did... And it was all to ensure on his family's protection, how sweet," Gray's head tilted as an innocent looking smile appeared on his face, but his eyes begged to differ. He brought his fist to his palm, ready to begin his assault on the fairies.

It was at this gesture that Natsu charged forward. "Guys, leave this to me!" He called to his team mates. After seeing them all nod in agreement - all be it reluctant - Natsu turned back to face his rival and ignited his fists. It was either now or never.

* * *

Being trapped in the depths of you mind was definitely a strange experience, or that's at least what Gray thought. There was no colour, no sound, nothing. He couldn't move, couldn't talk, he was just left to float around in darkness. He couldn't even turn to his own thoughts to provide himself with some sense of security; his mind was a complete blank. So he just floated there, feeling nothing. Suddenly, he heard a noise. It sounded like some sort of spell that had been casted, a spell that sounded familiar to him. The voice sounded similar too. Almost as if he'd known that voice his whole life. The next thing Gray knew, blurs of colours were merging together to create an image, it was almost as if he was watching a Movie Lacrima. As the images finally cleared, the raven noticed four figures all standing behind a green tinted sheet of ice. Wait a minute! He knew that ice... And that voice. Everything became so much clearer at the sight. They were his friends. Gray willed his voice to speak out to them, letting them know that everything would be alright, but he couldn't. He just floated around in his mind, watching the events outside take place. He began to hear a voice taunting the group. That's right. Deliora had possessed him. Everything would be alright, though. Deliora promised to leave his friends alone if Gray agreed to give up, so his friends would be fine. Everything would be fine. Right? Slightly muffled voices continued to talk until Gray watched Natsu charge towards him. He wanted to roll his eyes at the act. Natsu tended to over react from time to time. Doesn't he know that everything is alright? Completely out of the blue, Gray felt his magic activate of its own accord. This is when things started to change. The ice wizard continued to watch the screen as he saw Natsu ignite his fists and charge straight for him. What was that pyro doing now? A fist swung down and came to contact with what Gray could only assume was his cheek, but he had no sense of touch so he really had no idea. He then watched as Natsu bounced back to dodge several ice lances directed his way. Wasn't that his magic. Gray didn't want to attack Natsu though.

"This isn't right," Gray muttered, shocked that he could actually hear his own voice for once.

As if on cue, a figure materialised in front of him. This figure took a similar appearance to himself, but it was different. This person had black claws that matched with the black horns on his head - not to mention that the dark markings of his devil slayer magic were also present on the man. "Someone seems to have found their tongue," the figure laughed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You promised!"

"Oh, poor dear Fullbuster. Promises are meant to be broken."

"You said you wouldn't hurt them," Gray roared, getting into his battle stance. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't exactly in control of his magic right now.

"You never learn do you?" Deliora laughed. "I've almost taken full possession of you, boy. But don't worry, you'll be with your parents soon."

The doppelgänger created a sharp blade made of purple ice and lunged at the raven. Gray - having no means of defence - did his best to leap out of the way of the oncoming attack. The teen clenched his fists and sent a punch at the others face. Deliora's reflexes activate and he rapidly grasped the fist with his bare claw and grinned. The ice wizard was stunned to feel a sudden pressure in his chest which sent him tumbling the the ground - if there even was any ground.

"Confused, dear Gray? Allow me to elaborate. With each passing second your soul becomes weaker and weaker, while mine becomes stronger. Pretty soon you'll start to fade. This will be your final battle. Your story will end the way it began when I, Deliora, took everything away from your pitiful being!"

* * *

Natsu skidded to a halt as the lances ceased to exist. This was going to be a tough battle. _ __Dammit Natsu_ , __he thought, _ __grow a spine already. You've fought with Gray before and gone all out, why can't you now?___ Of course, he already knew the answer. This was far from what Natsu would call a fair fight. The Salamander glanced behind him to see the worried faces of his guild mates and Gray's surrogate brother. They were counting on him. Natsu had assured them the previous day that he would save Gray. There was no point worrying about the severity of injuries that his fire magic could cause his rival, Gray's life was on the line and that's all that mattered. Hazel eyes flared with anger, he will save Gray.

"I'm all fired up!" He yelled. "Let's do this, droopy eyes!"

* * *

 **This fic is almost over! *sobs***

 **The final chapter will be coming out next Monday so look forward to that!**

 **So what are your guys thoughts on them animating FT Zero? Personally, I'm happy but also annoyed that the Avatar arc is gonna be put off for a while and we won't get to see badass Gray. :( I wish they'd animate Ice Trail too!**

 **Also, me gets the feeling that Zeref is gonna drop the brother/E.N.D. bomb pretty soon. Which sucks 'coz that means FT is almost over, but I still can't wait for Gray to find out that he promised his Father to kill his best friend.**

 **Adios Muchachos!**


	10. The Calamity

**The finale has finally arrived. WHOOP! Hope you all enjoyed this fic and enjoy the final chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

The two fairies charged at top speed towards each other, Natsu surrounding his forearms in flames while Gray covered his fists in sharp blades of ice. The two elements clashed together, causing a shock wave that sent their spectators tumbling to the ground. The purple ice sliced through Natsu's fist and he cried out in pain. Gray, on the other hand, was dealt with burns to his wrist and pulled his hand back to his face. The pair both took a step back before regaining their postures and going in for their next attack. Natsu used his fire power as an accelerator.

"Karyū no Enchū!" He cried, throwing his fists towards Gray's chest.

Said raven didn't bother to dodge his rival's fist and the impact forced Gray back a few steps. What Natsu didn't realise until it was too late was the thick sheet of ice covering Gray's chest, meaning his attack was completely ineffective. By the time he'd realised what he'd done, the ice wizard was already preparing an attack of his own.

"Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" He cried as five pointed objects when flying towards the pick-haired teen.

It was times like this that Natsu was thankful for his enhanced agility as he leaped and bounded out of the weapon's range. He took a hard look at his opponent, trying to find even the slightest trait of his friend still lingering. Gray's form stood tall and proud with his head slightly tilted to one side. It was clear in his eyes that the demon was out for blood, _Natsu's blood_.

"C'mon Natsu," the beast taunted. "You're not putting your all into this. Let's fight like the good old days!"

"The good old days, huh?" Natsu repeated to himself, grinning slightly.

The two wizards charged again – this time with no magic – and punched each other in the cheek. Usually, said attack would be the one to incapacitate the two, having their fight result in a draw. However, there was no way Natsu was letting that happen this time. Unnoticed by his rival, as their fists connected with each other's jaw, Natsu brought up his leg and kicked Gray in the guts. The impact forced the demon a few steps back as he almost choked on his own saliva. Wiping his mouth clean, Gray sent an inhuman growl towards the fire wizard before charging yet again.

"Hyōma Zero no Tachi!" He roared, swing the mauve sword down against his rival.

Thankfully for Natsu, the attack barely missed him, slicing off a few strands of pink hair. After gaining the upper hand, Natsu ignited his right fist and went to punch the raven at the top of his back. Gray, on the other hand, was having none of this. He rapidly froze Natsu's entire arm and sent a back kick to the teen abdomen. The Salamander gasped at the brute force of the impact. He didn't remember Gray being this strong. Natsu fell to the ground with a harsh thud before quickly rolling to the side to avoid Gray's Death Scythe from slicing his head clean off. As the pink-haired fairy dodged any icicles that were thrown his way, he began to conjure up a new strategy as his current one was kind of… failing. He thought back the last time he had fought his rival; it had been well over a year since then. Natsu refused to count the incident at Avatar a real fight as neither side had put any effort into it whatsoever. In the end, Natsu only came to one conclusion. _The heat_. Currently, Gray had the field advantage in this fight, being surrounded by a thick layer of snow, the cold was his territory. But what if Natsu got rid of the cold. Possessed or not, Gray's body can't handle heated environments. Snickering at the idea, Natsu darted away from Gray and smashed his flaming fist into the ground, cracking it slightly.

"What the hell are you doing, fool?" Gray's form murmured, knowing the dragon slayer's ears would still pick it up.

Onyx eyes glared at the demon as the flames increased. Natsu had an extremely large range, meaning the entire mountain range was now void of any snow. Juvia had to surround her and the others with a wall of water to avoid being burnt by the intensity of the flames. The Salamander made a mental note to apologise for that later and returned his glance to Gray. Looks like the heat's already effecting him, Natsu thought, smiling. Gray's demonic form appeared to be sweating from the vigorous fire burning the ground. Wiping his forehead with his demon claw, he growled at his opponent before shouting, "TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME, DRAGNEEL!"

Before anyone had the chance to blink, the mountain had returned to its icy state with snow falling more aggressively that before. Shit, Natsu thought, forgot about that. Now he had to worry about beating Gray and not cracking his own head open on the ice. Pulling his head back, the teen gathered the flames buried inside of him and released them in one fell swoop.

"Karyū no Hōkō!"

* * *

Gray was receiving punch after punch from his malicious doppelgänger. To say the raven was having a hard time would be the understatement of the century. He didn't even have control of his own magic anymore, whereas the alternate version standing before him seemed to have an endless pit of Ethernano. Was this Deliora's true power? He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when the demon continued to taunt him.

"I must say, your dragon friend is very agile isn't he?" the demon smiled, looking down at the powerless human.

"Natsu ain't losin' to the likes of you," Gray returned the demon's smile with a spiteful grin of his own. "He'll kill you!"

"But would he risk killing you?" Deliora questioned, stroking his chin.

Gray had no words. If he had any control he would have stabbed himself in the heart by now and he knew Natsu wouldn't kill Gray even if there was no way the teen could be saved. Natsu would never stop trying. _Dammit_ , he thought to himself, dodging another wave of icy arrows. _Is there nothing I can do?_ Though Gray no longer had use of his magic, he could still feel it draining away, weakening him every second that passed. He was fading. The raven pondered that this must have been a similar feeling to what Loke was going through for the three years he posed as a human; now he could actually feel empathy for the guy. The occurrence wasn't painful in any way. It just felt… weird, as if parts of him were slowly disappearing. He glanced over to Deliora only to see him looking at the images relaying the outside world, disgust covering his features. Just what was Natsu doing? The idiot seemed to be punching the ground with a sadistic looking smile. The next thing he saw was cracks littering the ground as brilliant red flames burst of them. What happened next came as a surprise. Deliora fell down, claw clutching his raven hair and he hissed in pain. Gray's breath seemed to become more laboured and sweat began beading down his face. Wait a minute, he could feel those flames! Was Deliora weakening due to fighting two people at once? Gray decided to ask questions later, it was time for his counter attack!

"TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME, DRAGNEEL!" Deliora roared, his focus no longer on Gray.

The raven took this as his opportunity to strike back. Willing his magic to surface, he brought his fist to his palm as an icy aura surrounded his being. "Ice-Make: Cannon!" He cried sending a funnel of ice and snow crashing into the demon's form. "It worked…" he muttered.

"No!" The beast growled after regaining his posture. "How can you use your magic?"

"Looks like you're not as strong as you think you are," Gray chuckled. "Hyōma no Gekikō!" Nothing happened. "What the…"

"Heh," Deliora smirked. "Looks like I'm still in control of your demon magic. Your ice won't hurt me."

Suddenly, a harsh burst of heat spread through the darkness, sending both competitors down on their knees, gasping in pain.

"Maybe I won't be able to hurt you, but there's no way you can fight two battles at once, especially with that rampaging pyro." Gray smiled, pulling himself back up to his feet and creating an ice sword.

"You bastard, just die already!"

* * *

Gray's demonic form fell down onto his knees as he gasped in pain. Burn marks were scattered across his body, though it was hard to notice while the black markings were still apparent. Natsu laughed slightly at his work, Deliora was weakening; it was only a matter of time until the wretched demon could be returned into his book.

"You bastard, just die already!" Deliora cried as he charged towards the Salamander again, sword in hand.

The pink-haired teen didn't bother dodging; he just stood and watched Deliora's distressed face as he plan began going to shambles. When the frozen sword was mere inches from Natsu face, he ignited his flames once again and they consumed his entire being. Gray bellowed out in pain as he forearms were now covered with harsh burns.

"Natsu!" the fire wizard hear his friends calling him. Wait, he could have sworn he heard way more than four voices then. Natsu took a quick glance behind him to see not only his group, but Erza's as well. Levy was running up to him, holding the book of Deliora.

"Is he weakened enough?" The blunette asked opening to book to one of its many blank pages.

"Almost, just give me a little longer," Natsu replied, running back into the fray.

"BEGONE FROM MY SIGHT, YOU PATHETIC FAIRIES!" Gray's demonic voice boomed through the mountain range, almost causing an avalanche.

"GIVE US OUR FRIEND BACK, YOU BASTARD!" Natsu roared just as loud, lighting his fists yet again. "Metsuryū Ōgi: Guren Bakuenjin!" The fierce flames went racing towards Gray's form.

Deliora attempted with all his might to bring up to strongest ice shield he could create, yet nothing happened. _Like hell I'm letting you get out of this one_ , a voice taunted in his mind. The attack hit head on, causing the beast to scream in pure agony. As his form fell to the ground Natsu turned back to his guild mates.

"Levy, Now!"

The petite girl ran towards the wizards. Throwing the book into the air, she began the incantation. " _Gisqofusr ceom foxafs xe jeaf zewo!_ "

Gray's form convulsed as the black markings, the claws and horns all dissipated. He cried out in anguish as a sinister mist was pulled out of his body and absorbed into the book which then snapped shut and fell to the ground. Natsu skidded towards the literature and tossed it over to Lyon who shot the thing clear through with an icy arrow, destroying it for good. The fairies and Lyon were quickly snapped out of their celebratory mode when they heard choked whimpers coming from their beaten ice wizard. Natsu pulled his rival into him arms, praying that he hadn't been too hard on the guy during their fight.

"Gray. Hey, you okay? C'mon Gray, speak to me," he shook the battered form, trying not to put too much pressure on his wounds.

"N… Nat…su…" Gray stuttered, eyes dazed and unfocused.

"Everything's fine now Gray. Deliora's gone," Natsu smiled sympathetically, At this point Lyon had joined Natsu at his younger brother's side.

"Th… Thanks… for… sa... ving… me, Na…tsu," charcoal eyes rolled to the back of his head as his body relaxed into Natsu's embrace.

"C'mon, let's get him home," Lyon patted Natsu on the shoulder.

* * *

By the time the united teams had finally returned to their beloved guild hall, the moon was high in the sky, watching over the quiet building. Most people had already called it a night and headed home, but the loyal members had stuck around to see their family's safe return. The second Natsu burst through the doors carrying an unconscious Gray on his back, Mira rushed the two into the infirmary and immediately began treating the severe burn marks littering Gray's body. Wendy had been healing the teen non-stop ever since the battle ended so Makarov insisted that she returned to Fairy Hills to get some well-deserved rest. Of course the blunette refused, stating that her family was far more important to her right now. Lyon also insisted in staying around. There was no way he was returning to his guild with his younger brother in this condition, not after everything that happened. The guild members all sat around the hall, desperately awaiting some positive news about their comrade as Porlyusica and Makarov sat by his side.

"Natsu, when's Gray gonna wake up?" Happy tugged on his partner's sleeve, tears in his eyes.

"Soon Happy, soon," was all he could respond. He didn't even believe that himself. An immense amount of guilt washed over the fire wizard. He definitely went way overboard this time. Lyon could see the remorse covering the Salamander's features and took it upon himself to give the wizard a somewhat pep talk.

"Don't beat yourself up about this, Natsu," he took a seat next to the wizard in question. "You did what was necessary to save him. It's hard to be mad at someone for that."

"…" Natsu sent a look his way before resting his head on the table.

"I have no excuse for what I did."

"The hell you talkin' about?"

"Think about it. If I hadn't have melted Ur's Iced Shell back on Galuna Island eight years ago, none of this would have happened. It's because I was so driven by my own greed and hatred that Gray's life was put in danger."

"Lyon…" Natsu muttered, raising his head. "Like you said, that was eight years ago. Gray forgave you."

"Natsu, I tried to kill him. That's not something you would forgive a person for. I drove him to bloody suicide."

"He forgave you because you're family. You and Ur picked him up when he lost everything. Plus if you think of it like this, if you had never done what you did, Gray would have probably never made it to Fairy Tail and a Fairy Tail without Gray… I don't even wanna think about what that would be like."

Lyon chuckled slightly. "You know, you're not as much of a hot-headed moron that Gray makes you out to be."

"I have my moments," Natsu smiled a toothy grin towards the ice wizard.

At that moment, Makarov and Porlyusica emerged from the infirmary. The guild members still remaining all rushed towards the tiny man and the healer, asking a thousand questions all at once.

"One at a time please!" He roared through the crowd.

Porlyusica was the one to speak up. "Some of the burns are fairly bad and will take a long time to heal, but other than that, his magic is returning at the normal rate and he's recovering nicely."

"Thank god!" Cana sighed from the back of the crowd making everyone laugh. "Now I can enjoy my booze without any worry." The girl bounded back over to the bar ready for a drink. Mira ran after the brunette, worried that she might break something in her drunken haze.

Many guild members began leaving after that, satisfied knowing one of their own was safe and sound. Gray's team mates agreed to stay and watch over him during the night just in case. Though, Erza did send Wendy and Juvia back to Fairy Hills for the night. Wendy had already exhausted herself trying to heal the raven and Juvia hadn't gotten even the slightest rest ever since she found out Gray was possessed. However, they did allow Lyon to stay in the guild hall.

* * *

The night transformed into day far too slowly for the group as they slept by their team mate's side. Happy was the first amongst the five and he could already hear a racket coming from the main room. Probably just one of the guild's early morning brawls, Happy thought, his face downcast as Natsu and Gray were usually the pair to start off the fights for the day. The thought of Gray made the blue Exceed glance over to his fallen friend. The ice wizard had thankfully regained his colour since returning to the guild last night whiter than a sheet. Happy hopped over and took a seat next to the boy's head. He slowly stroked his raven locks, praying that he would wake up soon. The feline was shocked to see Gray's brow furrow slightly as a groan escaped his slightly parted lips. Happy gasped as his watched his friend's black eyes gradually flutter open.

"Gray," the cat whispered to prevent waking the others.

"Hey... Happy," Gray slurred, still dazed from the previous events.

"Like hell," he sighed, voice barely audible "How long have these idiots been here?"

"Ever since we found out you were going to be okay."

Lyon's eyes slowly flickered open and he was instantly at Gray's bed side. "Gray, you okay?!" He yelled, causing the other fairies to wake up.

"Gray!" They all cheered.

"Shut up," he muttered. "You're givin' me a headache."

"Glad to see you're doing well Gray," Erza smiled, helping him into a sitting position. Bandages covered the majority of his body and just sitting up seemed to be a struggle for the wizard.

"Deliora's definitely gone now, right?"

"Yes," Lyon smiled, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Gone for good this time. There's no way that bastard's gonna be bothering you again."

* * *

It took the majority of the month for Gray to completely recover from the incident. Lyon took time out of his work schedule to visit Gray every few days just to make sure he was doing okay. Cana made Gray promise to have a drink of booze with her the moment the raven was back on his feet and even Loke joined the pair in their endeavours. Natsu helped Gray work up his physical strength and before they knew it, the guild's resident ice wizard was back to normal and better than ever. However, while the guild was partaking in one of their usual drunken celebrations, Lyon noticed that a particular raven-haired wizard was missing. Exiting the building through the back doors, the ice wizard began walking through the eastern forest until he found who he was looking for. Gray sat slouched on a rock, staring at the flowing stream below him.

"What's up with you?" Lyon asked, putting his hand on the devil slayer's shoulder. "You're usually in a drunken haze this far into a party."

"Just thinking," Gray sighed, not bothering to glance up.

"Still caught up on everything that happened?" The silverette took a seat next to his brother.

"How could I not? Deliora was supposed to be dead. That part of my life should have ended years ago, but no, the universe always finds a way to bring it all back."

"Somehow, I'm thinking this isn't just about Deliora, right?"

"..."

"You miss your dad?"

"…Yeah," a single tear fell down the teen's cheek.

 _If only you knew_ , Gray thought, more tears falling.

Lyon didn't know what to do in these kind of situations. When living in Isvan, it was usually Ur who comforted Gray after he woke up screaming in the night. Just thinking about the crap Gray had had to endure made the man want to cry. No wonder Gray had been reduced to this state. Lyon wrapped his arm around his younger brother and let him cry to his heart's content. The two remained in this position until an annoying yet calming voice was heard from behind.

"I'm not interrupted your bromance am I?" Natsu chuckled, taking a seat on the other side of Gray.

"Bastard…" both males muttered, releasing themselves from the hug.

Natsu noticed Gray's tear stricken face and made a face of disapproval. "What's up with you? You should be celebrating, everything's over now."

"..."

"You know, I never would have been able to save you if you hadn't been fighting too, so stop acting so down in the dumps and just be thankful that you're not dead."

"That's just it though," Gray's self-loathing rose. "I gave up! I was too weak and I let Deliora take me. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to be proud of."

"But you got back up," Natsu smiled. "That fact that you're still here now proves that you refused to let Deliora win. Sure, you hit a low, part way through, but you picked yourself back up again. It's all about the recovery right?" He sent a toothy grin towards his rival.

"Why do you constantly beat yourself up over these things Gray?" Lyon questioned. "Stop getting caught up in the past. I did that for ten years and look what happened to me. I tried to kill my own brother just so I could get some sort of release."

The raven blushed slightly and turned away at the _brother_ statement.

"C'mon, let's get back to the guild," Natsu bounced up, pulling Gray along with him. "I heard Gajeel tryin' to pick fights with people. Let's show him what real slayers are made of!"

Gray couldn't help but chuckle at the last remark; he still wasn't used to being a devil slayer. Natsu bounded in front of the trio as they two ice wizards walking behind. The younger glanced over to his fellow student who returned his gaze with a smile. It was at this moment that relief flooded over Gray. Deliora was gone, gone for good this time. He felt relaxed for the first time in the past eleven years. It was as if a humongous weight had been lifted off his shoulders, knowing that the calamity can never return.

* * *

 **It's over! I can't believe it's over! *sobs***

 **Now I have many things planned for future fics. I got a couple of one-shots planned out and a few multi-chapter fics too. When they will be coming out... who knows? But they will be sometime in the future, that's all I can say.**

 **Time for manga talk!**

 **How sweet was the whole Gray worrying about Natsu thing. I wanted to cry because we all know that's going to end soon. And Natsu is taking off his bandage! Something tells me that Gray - being Gray - will go after Natsu even thought Mavis and everyone told him not to and that's when the E.N.D bomb will be dropped and Gray will most definitely attempt to kill Natsu! GAH, hurry up next week!**

 **Anywho, thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this fic, I've had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you all loved reading it too!**

 **We shall meet again! ;)**


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